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BOTD No. 6: 2016 NP-Mansfield team was solid all around

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette North Penn-Mansfield’s Avery Montefusco (4) and Krissy Buchanan (23) celebrate with teammates after a win in the state tournament during the 2016 season.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a ‘Best of the Decade’ series looking back at the top 10 football, girls and boys basketball, softball and baseball teams, coaches, games and players of the last decade.

A year after winning a District 4 Class A championship and nearly reaching the state semifinals, North Penn-Mansfield had to replace two outstanding starters, including a 1,000-point scorer. It was a tough task, but this was a team which embraced challenges like a parent does a newborn. The Tigers had the toughness to match their talent and produced a second straight memorable season.

North Penn-Mansfield won its most games since 2006, going 25-4, repeating as district champion and reaching the state tournament’s second round. This culminated a sensational four-year run for a senior-laden team which produced 83 wins and cemented that group’s legacy at its school and among last decade’s best teams.

“Everybody on the team, all of the players and coaches, we all have a role,” North Penn-Mansfield coach Jason Dominick said that following a thrilling district championship win against Lourdes. “Everybody was able to fulfill their role throughout the season and that’s how you win games like this.”

North Penn-Mansfield won a lot of big games like that and a lot of blowouts as well. The Tigers started 8-0, captured the Northern Tier League title in convincing fashion and allowed just 34 points per game. North Penn-Mansfield also bounced back strong from its first three defeats and again peaked at the perfect time.

“We need everyone on our team,” forward Krissy Buchanan said after a 49-26 district semifinal win against North Penn-Liberty. “It can’t be just one person, it has to be everyone on the team.”

It was.

Point guard Ali Hillson earned all-state honors and was the Sun-Gazette runner-up for Player of the Year. But this was a well-rounded team which included Defensive Player of the Year Alysa Davey-Bostic, double-double specialist Sara Wolbert and new starters Lauren Smith and Avery Montefusco, who both shined in their new roles. Buchanan provided a huge lift off the bench and was one of five players who averaged at least five points per game. Wolbert, Smith and Buchanan all also averaged five or more rebounds per game.

Hillson averaged 15 points and 3.9 assists per game, finishing her brilliant scholastic career with 1,400 career points. She and Davey-Bostic (12.2 ppg, 2.7 spg) could stretch the defense, combining for 104 3-pointers. That opened up the inside where Wolbert, Smith and Buchanan could go to work, giving the Tigers a strong inside-outside game.

That balance and unselfishness had North Penn-Mansfield ready to win its 20th game on Senior Night to close the regular season. Instead, surging Jersey Shore stunned the Tigers, 50-47. Instead of setting a bad tone for the playoffs, the defeat brought out the best in the Tigers who regrouped and romped their way to both the NTL Tournament title and the district final, outscoring four opponents by 83 points.

“It (the Jersey Shore loss) was a tough one, but I personally think it was a great game for us to open our eyes and get ready,” Hillson said. “That was like a district game because it was a bigger school and a game like that was good for us.”

It showed in the district final. Playing against an outstanding team which eventually reached that year’s state final, North Penn-Mansfield stormed out to a 14-point third-quarter lead. Lourdes, however, rallied and took a 1-point lead in the final two minutes. Again, instead of buckling, North Penn-Mansfield came battling back and closed the game by scoring the final five points and winning, 42-38. It was the program’s first repeat district championship since 2005-06 and the magnitude of the victory increased with every state tournament game Lourdes won.

A 51-30 state tournament win over Christian School of York followed before budding state power Mahanoy Area defeated North Penn-Mansfield in the second round. It was that Lourdes game which symbolized best who this team was. The Tigers were balanced that day as well as poised, tenacious and resilient.

A team that was like a band of sisters came together again and created quite a lasting memory.

“The best part of playing with this team the last few years is how close we are,” Davey-Bostic said a few days before playing Christian School of York. “We’re friends in and out of basketball season and it makes it easy for us to play together. We’re a big family. It sounds corny, but it’s true, and I know I can count on any one of them be there for me and I’ll always have these memories with them.”

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