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Decade’s best No. 3: Competitiveness made Jersey Shore’s Hannah Kauffman a better player

SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO Jersey Shore’s Hannah Kauffman tries to score against Williamsport during a game in 2018 at Jersey Shore.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a series looking back at the Top 10 girls basketball teams, coaches, games and players from the last decade.

Her driveway created an opportunity. She was playing with her dad there for fun, but the driveway basketball hoop ignited a passion and Hannah Kauffman turned that into an inferno which helped make her one of the best girls basketball players Jersey Shore has ever had.

From the driveway, to the youth leagues, to high school, Kauffman played hard and kept getting better. It all paid off as she achieved her dream of playing college basketball last year at Bloomsburg. Kauffman arrived there after becoming Jersey Shore’s only two-time all-state selection as well as its second all-time leading scorer. She also helped fuel a resurgence for what had long been a dormant program helping the Bulldogs twice reach the state tournament after having not done so since 2001.

“It started out in the driveway with my dad and then it progressed to more younger leagues and then I really fell in love with it and it just progressed,” Kauffman said as a junior in 2018. “It started out as a young age with the competitiveness with my dad. He pushed me to become a better person and a better player all-around.”

That raging competitiveness helped Kauffman transform a program which had not experienced a winning season in the eight seasons prior to her arrival. Kauffman, however, helped it reach the playoffs all four seasons she was there, was the Most Valuable Player on 2017 and 2019 state qualifiers and helped it win 56 games in her four years.

Kauffman was one of the decade’s most well-rounded players. She was a dynamo in the open court, an excellent shooter, fearless when driving inside and able to post up inside. All those qualities created an excellent foundation, but it was Kauffman’s contagious drive which helped her become one of the decade’s best players and Jersey Shore one of the most improved teams.

“Hannah continues to amaze me,” Jersey Shore coach Darrin Bischof said after Kauffman produced 21 points, five steals and four assists in a 2019 victory against Central Mountain. “She knows what we’re working with girls who don’t have a ton of varsity experience and she understands the more she can get them involved the more she’s going to get involved. I just love coaching her. She loves the game and she works very, very hard.”

A three-time Sun-Gazette first team all-star and its 2019 Player of the Year, Kauffman made big strides each year at Jersey Shore and closed her scholastic career with 1,523 points, second-most in program history. She also was among team leaders in rebounds, assists and steals each season, helping Jersey Shore make six-win improvements in each of her first two years

Kauffman surged throughout her freshman year and helped the Bulldogs reach the playoffs for the first time in nine years. By her sophomore year, she already was one of the district’s top players and Jersey Shore was one of its top teams. Two years after finishing 3-19, Jersey Shore went 19-7, won its first playoff games in 10 years, finished third in District 4 Class AAAA and was one second from beating Berwick in the opening round of states. Kauffman was the catalyst, averaging 16.6 points per game and consistently making the big shots at the most crucial times. Twice that season, she drained game-winning baskets in the final 15 seconds, including at the buzzer against Wellsboro. She also assisted Averie Hess on a buzzer-beater in the district’s third-place game as Jersey Shore beat Lewisburg, 35-33.

“Hannah is what she is, she’s going to score. I’m not sure what you can do against her because physically she’s just strong,” Bischof said. “For a sophomore she’s built, she’s strong, she pushes you out of the way. She’s got a good shot which is getting better.”

And Kauffman kept getting better.

Jersey Shore was a younger team in 2018 and Kauffman assumed a leadership role, setting an example with her ferocious work ethic. A marked player now, Kauffman dealt with double teaming and gimmick defenses, but still won the area scoring title averaging 19 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game. In addition to earning HAC-I MVP, she also was named a defensive all-star. James Harden she was not. Kauffman was a player who competed hard on every possession, whether she had the ball or not and Jersey Shore won 15 games. Kauffman topped 1,000 points that season and continued helping Jersey Shore excel in close games. During her sophomore and junior years, Jersey Shore was 12-2 in games decided by five points or fewer and she came up huge in last-minute victories against Montoursville, Williamsport and undefeated Wellsboro.

“I’ve been around a lot of basketball players and she’s just as athletic as I’ve ever seen,” Bischof said. “Her hands are fantastic and they always underestimate how high she can jump.”

Kauffman jumped onto the state radar that year, earning third team Class AAAA all-state honors. She also was the runner-up for Sun-Gazette Player of the Year and shined a bright light on a program which had experienced some dark times before her arrival.

“It’s really a special feeling to know that all my hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. I try to be an all-around player and be very unselfish with the basketball because it takes everyone on a team to be strong,” Kauffman said. “I couldn’t have done it without such a great team and coaching staff. They are constantly pushing me and wanting me to do better. I put a lot of time into the game of basketball, trying to better myself and it’s something I’m passionate about.”

That passion was evident throughout her senior season as Kauffman put together her best performance. Defenders hounded her wherever she went, but Kauffman repeated as area scoring champion, averaging 18.1 points per game, but also made her younger teammates better and averaged 4.5 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 2.6 assists per game. Kauffman played wherever Jersey Shore needed her, whether that be at point guard, shooting guard, forward or center. She excelled at all those positions, set a tone with her determination and consistently filled up the stat sheet. Again, when her team needed Kaufman the most, she so often delivered.

It felt appropriate that Kauffman’s final win at Jersey Shore would play out how it did. Favored Shamokin led Jersey Shore in the final seconds by a point in that year’s District 4 third-place game. There could no higher pressure because if the Bulldogs lost, their season was over. Bischof called a timeout and put the ball in his best player’s hands.

She had first encountered scenarios like this in her driveway and Kauffman lived a dream that was born there in front of a large crowd at the Shikellamy Field House. Kauffman sprinted just past half-court, let the shot go and drained a stunning buzzer-beater as Jersey Shore won, 57-55, and clinched a second state tournament berth in two years. It was the fourth time in three years that Kauffman made a game-winning shot in the last 34 seconds and perfectly summed up her high school career.

“I knew I needed to stay calm and composed and that we needed a 3 to win the game and coach drew up a play on the board and said that I needed to get the ball in my hands and just shoot it no matter what,” Kauffman said. “We all knew what was on the line and I knew that and I didn’t want to end the season yet, especially as a senior because we have put in a lot of work and have been hustling hard.”

Kauffman became the first player in program history to earn two all-state honors, moving up to the second team following that season. That achievement put a bow on what had been a terrific individual career and a dramatic program resurgence.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to be a part of this program and be a part of something so great. We have worked so hard to get where we are, not only this season, but also the seasons in the past,” Kauffman said. “It’s a great feeling knowing that I was a part of something that most people didn’t believe would have happened or be achieved.”

Kauffman helped make it happen. And by doing so, she set a standard as much with her work as her play, which could help Jersey Shore teams continue flourishing into the future.

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