MILLVILLE–Northwest cannot simulate game action when it practices. Having no JV team and just eight players make that impossible.

But these determined Rangers have some Hickory Huskers in them. Like the fictional champions from the classic movie “Hoosiers,” Northwest continues showing that its quality far surpasses any quantity it could ask for. And those eight players have banded together to become champions.

Charleigh Miner scored 24 points and dominated the fourth quarter, Ashlyn Hermanofski banked in a go-ahead 3-pointer and Northwest erased a nine-point third-quarter deficit Friday at Millville, defeating South Williamsport, 40-34 to capture the Mid-Penn Conference championship. The Rangers (18-5) dethroned South (17-6), snapped the Mounties’ 10-game winning streak and once again revealed their true grit.

“Some schools look at us and think, ‘It’s Northwest, they have eight players, we’re going to be able to beat them,'” Miner, one of the team’s two seniors, said. “But we come out every day looking to put a challenge to any team.”

Northwest did just that against South and when the challenge grew toughest, this team was at its best. South was the only Mid-Penn team to defeat Northwest during the regular season, but the Rangers turned the tables, allowing just seven points over the game’s final 12 minutes, 25 seconds. Northwest closed the game on a 7-0 run and became the first Mid-Penn team to defeat South since Sullivan County two years ago.

“We’ve been preparing all year and from the start of the year our goal was to get into this league championship and win this league championship, so it felt amazing. Coming back, it felt even better,” Miner said. “This game made a statement that we can beat anyone in District 4. There’s no team we can’t beat.”

South executed well on both ends throughout the game’s first 20 minutes but had trouble sticking to the game plan as the game progressed. Miner buried a corner 3-pointer to tie it, 31-31 with two minutes remaining before Aliegha Rieppel split the defense and found Sofia Casella (six rebounds) for a go-ahead layup 15 seconds later.

That, however, was both the first field goal for South in the previous nine minutes and its last. Hermanofski banked in an improbable 3-pointer while being fouled from near the top of the key with 90 seconds left and Miner made six straight clutch free throws to clinch the championship.

Obviously, South was disappointed with the result, but the good news is that its biggest goals remain out there. The Mounties are the top seed in the District 4 Class AA playoffs and host Wyalusing in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. If South wins that game, it could earn a rematch against Northwest in the semifinals.

“This should definitely light a fire under them,” South coach Dean Kriebel said. “It was their night, it wasn’t ours, but I guarantee you we will be ready Tuesday.”

Lacey Kriebel scored 15 points for South and Rieppel was all over the court, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Several of those were offensive rebounds which extended possessions, including when her rebound led to Casella finding Rieppel for a 3-pointer which made it, 30-22.

“I kept telling her that she was working her butt off and she kept doing it,” Dean Kriebel said. “Rip battled today. She battled the whole time.”

South battled back from an early deficit and used an eight-point run to take an 11-7 lead. The Mounties went up 19-12 in the second quarter before Morgan Hermanofski made consecutive 3-pointers. Rieppel extended another possession in the third quarter and Kriebel made it count, hitting the 3-pointer which gave South its biggest lead, 27-18.

From there, the Mounties went cold, and Northwest heated up. A team which kept a close eye on Miner throughout the game, lost her at key times and the senior sharpshooter fueled the comeback, scoring 16 second-half points while going a combined 10 of 11 from the field and line.

“We got stagnant; we weren’t flashing as much. I told the girls the main objective of this whole game is to attack, attack, attack. The first half we did that, the second half we didn’t,” Kriebel said. “We were out of position a couple times in our matchup zone and didn’t get out to the corner and they hit a couple of big 3s there. We have to go back and look at film and if we play them again, figure out how things got out of whack and what needs fixed.”

Miner has had coaches looking for answers throughout her scholastic career, especially in her final season. Teams have focused on slowing the high-scoring, Penn State-Wilke-Barre guard, but most have failed in that mission.

Miner moves well without the ball, her teammates do a good job finding her and time after time, their leader hit crucial shots. That includes at the line where Miner went 10 for 10, making eight straight in the fourth quarter. Miner hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 33 seconds remaining to make it 36-33 and repeated that achievement with 13 seconds left before sealing the game with two more at the five-second mark.

“I’ve gotten box-and-1s most of the games this year, so I just accept that I’m going to have to do whatever I can to score,” Miner said. “It’s going to be tough but once it’s over, you get to get a break and enjoy your win.”

Northwest can enjoy this one for a long time. Every time those eight players come back to the gym in the future, they will be reminded of their latest gutsy victory when they look up and see their title banner.

SOUTH (34)

Lacey Kriebel 4 4-4 15, Aleigha Rieppel 3 2-3 11, Piper Minier 0 1-2 1, Sofia Casella 1 0-2 2, Alizabeth Schuler 1 1-2 3, Ella Moore 1 0-0 2, Mikaiya Hills 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 8-13 34.

NORTHWEST (40)

Charleigh Miner 5 10-10 24, Morgan Hermanofski 2 1-2 7, Jordin Bowman 0 0-0 0, Karsyn Miner 2 0-0 4, Ashlyn Hermanofski 2 0-3 5, Taylor Noss 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 11-15 40.

South 11 10 9 4–34

Northwest 9 9 6 16–40

3-pointers: South 6 (Kriebel 3, Rieppel 3); Northwest 7 (C. Miner 4, M. Hermanofski 2, A. Hermanofski).

Records: Northwest 18-5. South 17-6.