Alyssa Thomas quickly discovered this season that her reputation preceded her.

The junior small forward from Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, Pa., was an all-state first-team selection as a sophomore, entertained offers from many of the top women’s college basketball programs in the country, and committed to Maryland shortly before the beginning of her junior season.

So when Thomas suited up for the first time this year, it was immediately evident that she’d be a target in every game she played.

“It was getting really crazy, to be quite honest,” Central Dauphin head coach Bill Wolf said. “She put up these numbers against box-and-ones, triangle-and-twos, man defenses where they just completely face-guarded her and didn’t let her get the basketball. They’d double-team her when she got the ball. You name it, she saw it. To still put up the type of numbers that she did when, in every game there was a different strategy used against her, was pretty amazing.”

Thomas, 6-1, averaged nearly 20 points and 13 rebounds per game. She shot 50 percent from the field, including 43 percent from three-point range. Central Dauphin finished its season 29-2. The Rams’ only losses were against Christ the King, a traditional New York powerhouse, and Downington West in a second-round upset in the Pennsylvania Class AAAA girls basketball tournament. Wolf said there were a couple notable improvements in Thomas’ game.

“She’s getting stronger and that’s one thing we’ve been working on with her," Wolf said. "The big improvement now that I’ve seen this year is just her shooting range, as well as her strength. Those are going to be two things that are going to be very important as she goes to the next level.”

Wolf said Thomas has taken all her success in stride. In the coming weeks she’ll likely be named first-team all-state for the second consecutive season. She’ll enter her senior season as arguably the best player in Pennsylvania. But Wolf said Thomas hasn’t changed a bit off the court or on it.

“We had our basketball banquet [Monday] night,” Wolf said. “She was selected by her teammates and our coaching staff ... as the best teammate and the person you would most want to play with in terms of having a good attitude and just making everyone better. She shares the ball. She’s basically what the program stands for in terms of good attitude. If somebody falls down on the court, she’ll pick them up. It just goes to show you that as good as she is and in picking Maryland early, she hasn’t let it go to her head. It’s not like she thinks she’s better than her teammates. She’s just a level-headed kid.”

Maryland coach Brenda Frese, and assistants Erica Floyd and Tina Langley, all made trips to Central Dauphin at different times this season. The Terps coaching staff hoped Thomas’ squad would meet UM combo guard commitment Natasha Cloud’s Cardinal O’Hara team for the state championship. The Rams’ second-round loss prevented the future Terp vs. future Terp matchup from happening, but there’s always next year.

“[Frese] wishes [Alyssa] could come on campus this coming year,” Wolf said. “They’re going to have to wait a year for her, but they’re really excited.”