A look back at the Carroll County high school hoops season

The winter sports season is finished, so let's take a look back at the standout performances from boys and girls basketball in the Carroll County Athletic League.

Boys Basketball

Congrats to Century for winning its fourth county championship in a row, and seventh in nine seasons. The Knights went 11-1 in county play and finished 19-4, led by the CMSportsNet Player of the Year in junior guard Andrew Marcinko (20.4 ppg, 45.4 3PT%, 82.7 FT%).

Five of Carroll's seven boys teams posted winning records, and two of them reached the state quarterfinals -- Liberty captured a second regional title in three seasons.

The Lions went 16-10 and got revenge on both Century and South Carroll in the 2A West playoffs after the Knights and Cavaliers beat them twice during the regular season. Senior guard Shane Stewart fueled the Lions with 19 points per game and added 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and shot 77% from the free-throw line.

Carroll saw a senior join the 1,000 Point Club when Francis Scott Key senior Ryan Rill got there earlier in the season. Rill led the county in scoring at 22.4 points per game and added 8.4 rebounds per game. 

Rill helped the Eagles win a 1A South regional crown and play in the state tourney for the first time since 1977. FSK fell short against Cambridge-South Dorchester in the quarterfinals, but Rill completed his high school carer with 1,240 points -- the second most in program history.

Here's a look at the CCAL stats leaders for this season.

Girls Basketball

Manchester Valley dominated the season and won its first Carroll County title in five years. The Mavericks went 21-3 and 11-1 in CCAL play. Junior guard Carmaya Bowman paced the Mavs with 10.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and MV excelled on playing aggressive defense that led to offensive surges.

Westminster, Liberty, and Century each had winning records. And the Lions got hot in time for the 2A West playoffs -- they claimed a regional title, their second in three seasons like their boys counterparts.

Jess Littlejohn, Liberty's go-to senior guard, led Carroll County in scoring (15.6 ppg), assists (4.3 apg), steals (3.3 spg), and field-goal percentage (53.5%). Littlejohn earned CMSportsNet Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors.

Century senior Eva Brandt averaged a double-double this season with 11.5 points and a county-best 13.5 rebounds per game. Liberty junior Jenna Liska came close at 9.3 ppg and 10.6 rpg, as did Francis Scott Key's Ally Mathias (13 ppg, 9.7 rpg).

Let's look at all of the CCAL girls basketball stats leaders.