Published on February 24, 2026 11:36 pm
Last Updated on February 25, 2026 6:39 am
BY DUSTIN WHITE
ARGENTA — Cumberland High School picked up a girls basketball victory 45 years in the making Tuesday in Argenta, leading wire-to-wire and advancing to the championship game of the Class 1A Argenta-Oreana Sectional with a 46-31 triumph over the top-seeded Salt Fork Storm. The game was heard on 979XFM.
Never before had Cumberland’s girls won a sectional game, but 24 points from sophomore stalwart Jude Miller and the epitome of an Alysa Dittamore performance (18 rebounds) helped rewrite the Pirates history books along with a dozen tallies from sophomore Raegan Jones.
The second-seeded Pirates (27-4), playing in just the second sectional game since the program began in 1980 and the first since 2011, held Salt Fork (26-5) scoreless for much of the first quarter and built up as much as a 13-point edge during that opening stanza. It never got closer than the seven-point margin Cumberland enjoyed at halftime and grew to as many as 16 during the final period.
Dittamore, a junior and a 1,000-point career scorer along with Miller and Jade Carr, scored Cumberland’s first five points of the night thanks to her work on the offensive glass and some trips to the foul line. She also picked up a couple early fouls, causing the Pirates to switch up defenses in a move that actually worked out beyond their wildest dreams as Salt Fork struggled to permeate the three-point arc and settled for 23 three-pointers on the night. Only six of them went down and many of the others were not particularly close.
Cumberland executed well in transition both offensively and defensively and, when junior defensive specialist Ashton Tolen fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, classmate Kailen Lietch became the Pirates’ first substitution all night and filled in admirably.
Miller ended up hitting four three-pointers on the night while Jones knocked down a couple as well. Cumberland’s 27th victory adds to a program record; the previous best was a 25-5 mark in the 2009-10 campaign.
Salt Fork was ranked eighth in the final Class 1A Associated Press poll, while Cumberland was ninth. Ranked fourth was Mt. Pulaski, who Cumberland will now face in Thursday’s 6 p.m. championship at Argenta-Oreana High School. The Hilltoppers, the other No. 1 seed in the sectional, had no trouble dispatching Tri-County 65-36 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
Class 1A Argenta-Oreana Sectional
Semifinal
CUMBERLAND (46)
Miller 9-2 — 24, Tolen 0-0 — 0, Carr 1-0 — 2, Jones 5-0 — 12, Dittamore 2-4 — 8, Leitch 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 17 FG, 6 FT.
SALT FORK (31)
Russell 1-2 — 4, Bry. Hird 2-2 — 7, Carey 1-0 — 3, Remole 0-0 — 0, Pacot 3 -1 — 9, Bra. Hird 2-0 — 6, Pierce 1-0 — 2. TOTALS 10 FG, 5 FT.
Cumberland 16 11 7 12 — 46
Salt Fork 5 15 4 7 — 31
3-Point FG — Cumberland 6 (Miller 4, Jones 2), Salt Fork 6 (Bry. Hird 1, Carey 1, Pacot 2, Bra. Hird 2).