HAZLETON–Nobody can predict the future. Heck, even Nostradamus has been proven wrong much more than right.

But Hughesville freshman Regan Sellers provided a possible taste of what could be brewing late Monday night against Holy Redeemer.

The freshman guard made a last-second steal, sprinted down the court and drew a foul while attacking the basket. She then drained consecutive free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining. The outcome was decided, but it was yet another Hughesville “not on my watch,” moment.

The Spartans might not win every game, but they refuse to be defeated. That is what younger players have learned from those above them, and it has created the best three-year run in program history.

Holy Redeemer denied Hughesville its first state championship appearance, winning, 39-27 in Monday’s Class AAA semifinals but that final sequence shows why more good times could be coming.

“Yes, we didn’t win, but it’s about coming back next year and coming back stronger,” senior Vivian Draper said afterward. “I think next year we have a good shot as well. We have some great people coming up.”

Draper, as well as decorated seniors Kylie Temple, Georgia Randall and Allyssa King, will not be back next season, but will past the torch as two superb senior classes have before them. Each one has raised the bar for a program which before 2024 had never won a district championship or state playoff game.

Over the last three seasons, Hughesville has two district titles, six state tournament wins and 74 wins overall. The Spartans (27-4) broke the program record for victories this season, reached the Final 4 for the first time and beat five state playoff teams during a six-game playoff winning streak.

Equally important, these players over the last three seasons have driven home to the next group coming up that one can dream the biggest dream. It’s not far-fetched anymore. It’s within reach and the way the players and coaches have put their hearts and souls into everything has provided the blueprint.

“Losing those seniors is going to be hard, but the people that are here will step up; the younger girls will step up,” junior and all-time Hughesville leading scorer Maddie Smith said. “They’ve been working hard in practice against us every day and doing well, so I think they’ll be good next year.”

That has been the formula the past three years. Some names change, but the results have not. And that’s because the relentless effort remains constant.

Hughesville has averaged nearly 25 wins during that time and a program which really struggled for nearly a decade following state tournament appearances in 2006-07, has now become one of the state’s best. And the legacy of those who have graduated the last few years–Breanna Bobak, Lucy Myers, Ava Snyder and Alli Anstadt, is they knocked down walls, set examples and showed future teams how to handle their business.

Hughesville handled it better than ever this season and came so close to reaching Hershey. Doing so takes coach Dustin King down memory lane. Nearly a decade ago, he and his dedicated assistants were coaching the elementary students, the players now making history.

At one point, things were getting really intense and King called timeout.

“It’s absolutely come full circle. I had to stop them one time and ask, ‘Why are playing so hard? You’re not playing for a state title,'” King said. “We laughed and I said one day we will be and sure enough this group was here and what a run. Just to see them grow from there to where they are now is pretty amazing.”

So is what Hughesville did this season. The Spartans swept three games from defending state champion Loyalsock, won league and district titles in the same year for the first time and never lost to another 3A team until Monday.

A well-connected team, Hughesville also featured some quality height, speed, balance and depth. But at its core, this team was built around relentless competitiveness. That is the foundation which was put down two years ago and it continues growing stronger.

That’s because younger players who watched the 2024 team are coming up through the system. Now, the same is said for those who have seen the past two teams continue elevating the program. Hughesville no longer hopes to win but expects to win and that is a critical mindset shared among so many championship teams. It’s not cockiness or arrogance, but simply a trust and belief in each player around them.

“I think they’ve seen what working as a team can do,” Draper said. “They’re all such special talents. In practices, they’re wonderful to be around, to play with and I wish them all the luck.”

Make no mistake, luck … well let’s call it good fortune often … is required to make runs like these. That mostly pertains to teams staying healthy. If Hughesville does so, the ingredients certainly are there to remain a fantastic team.

Four of the Spartans from the main seven-player rotation and should be bolstered by an exciting group of players who put together a super JV season. The junior high basketball program also performed well so, while a quartet of terrific players move on, another batch is eager to emulate what they provided.

The biggest lesson the past three senior groups has provided is playing with non-stop energy and grit. Even when not at its best, Hughesville often has willed itself to wins against super teams through those qualities, doing so again last Friday when it turned an eight-point deficit into a 46-40 quarterfinal win against Dunmore.

Success often breeds success. It’s a cliché that often rings true. Younger players have seen Hughesville make state championship pushes. More important, they have learned exactly how they have done so.

What once seemed like a pipe dream, now feels so real. It’s incredibly hard to reach a state championship, but Hughesville came as close as one can to doing so this season. So, soon the work will start again.

Opponents, especially throughout District 4, will be coming hard after Hughesville. Such is the price for becoming such a successful program. But this program has embraced the hard these past three seasons. Sellers making her last-second steal and free throws gives an indication that the Spartans are eager to do so again.

It will take some time for Hughesville to get over the sting of how this season ended. But once it does, the Spartans will look to do what they have the past two offseasons: turning what seemed like the end of the road into just another beginning. Hughesville has scaled historic sights, and it hopes to keep climbing.

“We have a pretty good junior high, some good freshmen coming up next year and some really good kids left,” King said. “Anything is possible. Attitude and effort are what you can control and, hopefully, the girls just continue to fight and fight.”

They know no other way. That’s how they’ve been taught.

–Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse