MUNCY–A brief fourth quarter sequence Saturday night summed up exactly who these Muncy basketball players are.

Point guard Rosie Zalonis was fouled, hit the floor hard and hobbled toward the foul line. Once there, she shook off the pain, drained the first of seven consecutive free throws and Muncy kept moving forward.

One might knock these players down, but they keep rising up and fighting. And on a night when so many shots refused to fall, it was that will, grit and tenacity against Milton which helped Muncy capture a championship.

Zalonis scored 15 points, Tournament MVP Ava Eyer grabbed eight rebounds, Alexis McKeta made five steals and Muncy turned a six-point second quarter deficit into a 34-27 victory as it won the Muncy Rotary Tournament championship. Muncy (2-0) avenged a loss against Milton in last year’s final, held it scoreless for nearly 11 minutes in the second half and earned its second tournament title in three years.

“It’s that never give in mentality. They compete. They keep competing. It’s a great bunch of girls,” Muncy coach Craig Weaver Sr. said. “They’re such a delightful bunch to work with. We saw what kind of team we were going to have in the summer with their commitment to working. Their attitudes are unreal. We definitely have 12 quality people.”

That showed as Muncy overcame both Milton’s swarming defense and an off night shooting the basketball. Despite missing 26 of their first 27 shots in the first half, the two-time defending District 4 Class AA champions never wavered.

They simply dug in even more defensively, attacked the boards and fought back. Instead of growing frustrated, Muncy grew more determined, took a lead midway through the third quarter and kept growing it from there.

“Coach really stresses defense and that defense wins games. That’s kind of how we run,” Zalonis said after adding four rebounds, three steals and two assists. “You’re going to have games where your shots don’t fall, and obviously it was like that the first half. We just had to work through it tonight.”

Muncy so often has worked through whatever challenges have come their way these past three seasons. Instead of focusing on what could have been during the first half when it produced quality shots that just would not go in, the Indians concentrated on what could be and broke through in the second half.

Following a Hayden Snyder steal and layup which put Milton (1-2) ahead by five early in the third quarter, Muncy closed the game on a 18-6 run. Anna Zalonis (7 points, 6 rebounds) and Eyer hit consecutive 3-pointers which put Muncy ahead, 22-21. Rosie Zalonis added another 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and brilliant offensive execution down the stretch combined with ferocious defense to help complete the championship puzzle.

“It’s just being willing to play hard and keep pushing,” Zalonis said after earning all-tournament honors. “There are two people who usually will swish one or swish two and then we get excited. It’s a good feeling when things like that start to fall because then we’re like ‘We’re back in this game and we can do this.'”

Muncy was 2 of 30 from the field until late in the first half but an Eyer runner had it within 19-15 at halftime. Offense can come and go, but effort and defense can be constants and Muncy again made sure both were. Those qualities kept it in the game during the first half and then the offense complementing the defense helped it win during the final two quarters.

Following Snyder’s layup, Muncy did not let Milton score for the next 10 minutes, 45 seconds. The Indians had run the lead to seven before all-tournament selections Carrie King (6 points, 9 rebounds) and Liz Schrock (6 points, 8 rebounds) combined for a layup which made it, 28-23 with 2:50 remaining.

“They’re tough-nosed kids. I kept telling them at timeouts if you’re going to win it, you’re going to win it with defense,” Weaver said. “You have to lock them down and get after it and, wow, did they do that.”

Muncy surrendered just eight second-half points, forcing 10 turnovers and limiting Milton to four field goals on 22 attempts. Emma McCormick helped fuel the defense and was one of four players who pulled down at least five rebounds as well. McKeta added six rebounds, and her post defense played a critical role against a team with a height advantage.

Milton never backed down either, but Muncy’s disciplined offense forced it to foul over the game’s final two minutes. McCormick hit two foul shots and Zalonis then drained six straight as the duo combined to go 8 for 8 in those last two minutes and help Muncy seal victory.

Zalonis helped Muncy win the district championship as a freshman two years ago when she made two last-second, go-ahead free throws against Northeast Bradford. Saturday, she went 10 of 12 at the line and made her last seven, six coming in those last two minutes.

“Since my freshman year, that’s something we really stress. It’s been my strong suit,” Zalonis said. “I’m able to stay calm on the line and really focus on the hoop.”

Milton scored the final five first quarter points and led 9-6 before going up six late in the second quarter. From there, the Muncy defensive vise strengthened its grip and started squeezing off high-percentage scoring opportunities.

It was one part fabulous man-to-man pressure, but also a super collective effort with each player rotating, helping and communicating. Nothing came easy but this team embraces what makes sports hard and that helped it secure another championship.

“We won the game on our defensive effort and our executing the offense going down the last six minutes of the game,” Weaver said. “With some of the mistakes we made in the first three quarters, we put it all together in the fourth quarter and they had to foul. They really dug in and got it done.”

MILTON (27)

Carrie King 3 0-0 6, Liz Schrock 3 0-4 6, Lainey Snyder 1 2-3 4, Hayden Snyder 3 0-0 6, Jaslene Holder 1 1-2 3, Camryn Hoover 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 3-9 27.

MUNCY (34)

Ava Eyer 2 2-4 7, Rosie Zalonis 2 10-12 15, Anna Zalonis 2 1-3 7, Emma McCormick 1 2-2 4, Alexis McKeta 0 1-6 1, Hailey Ganoe 0 0-0 0, Abby Niedermyer 0 0-0 0, Rachel Paulhamus 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 16-27 34.

Milton 9 10 2 6–27

Muncy 6 9 7 12–34

3-pointers: Muncy 4 (A. Zalonis 2, Eyer, R. Zalonis).

Records: Muncy 2-0. Milton 1-2.