TURNER — With York ahead by two late in the Western B final, Courtney Anderson took charge.

The Leavitt senior drove the length of the court for the tying basket. The regional championship went to overtime and the Hornets subsequently claimed their first title.

A week later with the Class B state game at stake, Anderson stepped up her game again. With the Warriors trying to rally from behind and two Leavitt starters nursing an illness or an injury, Anderson wasn’t going to be denied.

Anderson led the way once again and helped Leavitt claim its first state championship.

Both games were prime examples of the role Anderson grew into as a Hornet. She’s been a team leader since she was a freshman on a 1-17 team, but she took that responsibility to new levels this year.

Anderson, who is headed to the University of Maine, is the Sun Journal Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year.

“Overall, I became a better leader,” said Anderson. “When our team gets down, they rely on me and (fellow senior) Abbey (Randall) to look at, so we can’t get down.”

Anderson came into the Hornet program with ball handling skills, a nose for the net and an outside shot. Her skills have evolved, but she’s also brought a matured basketball IQ to the floor.

“He role has been that forever for us,” said Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson. “I think playing outside the state of Maine against some very good players has helped her. Once she made her decision about what she was doing for college, she settled in and was very happy with what her future looked like. So it became about having some fun.”

Anderson led the team this season averaging nearly 20 points. She also averaged four rebounds, six assists and three steals while hitting 38 three-pointers.

It wasn’t often this year that the Hornets were tested, but there were a few teams that give Leavitt quite a challenge. Each time, Anderson was integral in her team’s reaction and subsequent victory.

In a regular season win over Nokomis, the Hornets fell behind by double-digits to start the game. Leavitt rallied to take the lead but watched the Warriors make a late run. As Nokomis had the Hornets staggering late in the game, it was Anderson that settled things down and enabled Leavitt to salvage the win.

“One of the biggest things was the Nokomis game last year,” said Anderson of the lone regular season loss for Leavitt in the last two years. “We were losing. We kind of panicked, and I kind of panicked. Then everyone else panics. Then against Nokomis this year, I didn’t panic when we got down. That’s what attitude brings – a presence to the team. It’s hard to play when the whole team is panicking.”

It was the same in the playoffs this year. She was a driving force in the nail-biter against York and then was unstoppable against Nokomis.

She scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds in the regional final against the Wildcats, earning the Western B tourney’s top player honor. Against Nokomis, she led the team with 21 points, including 11 in the final quarter.

“You have to keep that mental aspect in mind for the whole team to succeed,” said Anderson.

That’s something the entire Leavitt squad showed more of this season. As went Anderson, the team leader, so went the rest of the Hornets. Leavitt was a more seasoned and determined club when it mattered most.

If the Hornets struggled to shoot well or got off their game, Leavitt would struggle. That didn’t happen this year, and Anderson was a key ingredient to that.

“The roles haven’t really changed for anyone, but I think maturity has come a long way for everyone,” said Tammy Anderson. “We knew we had to make sure we didn’t fall apart. We had that happen to us when we were younger, and we didn’t end last year the way we wanted to. Part of it was the whole mental piece of getting sucked out of our game.”

kmills@sunjournal.com