Harmony's Alyson Leyo Player of the Year

The Clearfield Lady Bisons bounced back from a 5-19 mark last season to earn a berth in a PIAA play-in game, while Harmony picked up a win in the District 6 Class A playoffs before bowing out against Northern Cambria in the quarterfinals.

Moshannon Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and West Branch also qualified for the postseason, but came up empty in their attempts.

The Lady Bisons were the only squad to advance to a district championship game, but their season came to an end with consecutive losses to St. Marys in the District 9 Class AAA title game and Franklin in the play-in contest.

Clearfield improved eight games from last season and should be strong again next season after graduating two starters.

The Lady Owls' experience helped them claim the Moshannon Valley League outright after splitting with Mo Valley last season, and helped them earn a playoff win over the Damsels in the District 6 Class A first round.

Harmony's season came to an end against Northern Cambria, a state finalist a season ago.

Mo Valley head coach Aaron Mills kept turning the Damsels around, as his squad finished the regular season with eight straight wins, the school's longest streak in over a decade.

P-O coach Missy Helsel had the same kind of success in her first season as head coach, as the Lady Mounties moved into the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons

West Branch also drew a tough opponent in the D-6 Class AA bracket, as it ran into Central Cambria.

Curwensville, Glendale and Purchase Line all had some form of success this season, but none were able to qualify for the postseason.

The first-team this season has an underclassmen tint to it, as all six of the members are juniors. Despite not having one first-team selection, the local seniors finished the list with seven all-stars - two behind the junior class.

There were five sophomores and one freshman selected to the team.

Harmony finished with four all-stars, while Clearfield, Harmony, Mo Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and West Branch each had three. The Lady Tide, Lady Vikings and Lady Dragons had two apiece.

Selections were based on observations from the Sports Department, statistics, other postseason accolades and input from Progressland coaches.

Here's a look at how this year's team breaks down:

Coach of the Year: Missy Helsel, Philipsburg-Osceola: Like Mills a season ago, Helsel made an immediate impact on her team from the get-go. The Lady Mounties had been mired in losing seasons since 1995-96, but Helsel got the most out of her squad and turned their misfortunes around from the onset.

P-O lost just two seniors from last year's 3-21 season, but Helsel worked her magic with essentially the same team and the result was a 13-10 record with their first appearance in the District 6 playoffs since 2000-01.

The Lady Mounties won their first three games of the season and later had six wins in a row.

P-O also snapped a losing skid against Lewistown, as it topped the Lady Panthers for the first time since 1996.

Player of the Year: Alyson Leyo, Jr., Harmony: Leyo earns the nod for the second straight season as Player of the Year after another dominating season.

The Lady Owl's presence on the inside was a large reason she took the title last year, and, when you add in her ability to knock down shots from long range to an already impressive repertoire, it's hard to ignore the stellar junior season she had.

Leyo surpassed the 1,000-point plateau early this season and later became the school's all-time leading scorer in a win over West Branch. The Harmony junior registered a season-high 30 points in a triumph over Blacklick Valley and finished with 10 20-point games to her credit, and was held to single digits just once.

Leyo finished the season with 438 points for an 18.3 average, which was best in Progressland, to go along with 30 3-pointers. Scoring wasn't the only area Leyo excelled, as she was second in the area with a 13.4 rebounds-per-game average, blocked 7.5 shots a game and came up with 3.2 steals each time she stepped on the court.

Taylor Harpster, Jr., Philipsburg-Osceola: Harpster has finished eight varsity seasons in her career and she now has eight Progressland first-team selections under her belt. A stalwart on the volleyball court and on the softball field, Harpster also has a knack for getting the job done on the hardwood.

Harpster was a key component in the Lady Mounties' success this season, as she, again, led the team in scoring after netting 20 points in six contests and at least 10 in nine others, and also led the team with 199 rebounds.

The P-O junior's scoring prowess led to her reaching the 1,000-point plateau in an overtime loss to Penns Valley where she finished with 19 points. Harpster, whose season-high 28 points helped defeat rival Bald Eagle Area, finished the season with a 13.3 average, and also came up with 37 steals, which ranked her third on the team.

Harpster also proved to be a threat from the outside, as she connected on 22 3-pointers this season.

Rebecca Kephart, Jr., West Branch: Kephart makes the jump to the first team after being a second-team pick in each of her previous two seasons. The Lady Warrior junior had her most complete season to date, as she led the team in scoring (14.4) and rebounding (13.6) and was second with 36 steals.

Kephart's numbers also ranked fairly well against the rest of Progressland, as her scoring was second behind Leyo and her rebounding efforts were tops in the area. Throughout the course of the 23-game season, Kephart was held in single digits in scoring just three times, while finishing with three 20-point games.

Kephart's most dominating performance came against Juniata Valley early in the season, as she finished with a season-high 24 points and 21 rebounds. The West Branch forward also torched Glendale and Mo Valley with 20-point efforts and added 19 against Mount Union and Harmony.

Lindsay Neff, Jr., Harmony: With many teams trying to slow down Leyo, Neff was able to step up and give teams one more headache to worry about. Neff teamed with Leyo to form one of the most potent forward tandems in the area, as the duo combined to score 28.3 points per game.

Neff also proved to be a menace on the glass, as she pulled down 10.6 rebounds per game to finish fifth in the area. The Lady Owl junior also came up with 52 steals and blocked 45 shots.

Neff's best span of the season came right after the new year, as she scored 20 points in three straight games to help her team to a 3-0 record in that span.

Her best game, however, came in the Cambria Heights Holiday Tournament, where she poured in 26 points in a win over the hosts. After scoring 20 points in those contests, Neff went on to finish with eight double-digit performances in the last 11 games of the season.

Gwenn Porter, Jr., Clearfield: The Lady Bisons didn't have a player average double figures this season, but what Porter did in other aspects of the game stands head-and-shoulders above the lack of scoring.

The junior guard was hounded by many teams' man-to-man defense against Clearfield, and Porter still had a very solid season. Porter led the team in scoring with a 7.3 average and also led her squad with 76 assists and 60 steals.

Porter also showed throughout the course of the year that she could score, as she poured in a season-high 14 points against Punxsutawney in a District 9 playoff game where the Lady Bisons scored 43.

The Clearfield point guard ended the season with seven double-digit performances and proved she could battle with the forwards after leading the Lady Bisons with nine rebounds in a win over Brookville.

Vanessa Rowley, Jr., Moshannon Valley: The Damsels wrapped up their regular season with eight straight wins, and Rowley was a big reason why. Rowley stepped up in taking the ball to the basket and knocked down more shots, as Mo Valley averaged 54.6 points down the stretch after scoring just 42.6 in their first 14 contests.

The team average wasn't all that improved, as Rowley's production skyrocketed from 10 points per game to start the season to 16.1 in the final nine games of the season.

Rowley also had a game-winning 40-foot shot at the buzzer to defeat Williamsburg, the last team to defeat Mo Valley before Harmony ousted it in the playoffs.

Scoring wasn't Rowley's only forte, as she dished out 6.5 assists per game, pulled down 3.7 rebounds and nabbed 3.3 steals.

A two-time honorable mention selection, Rowley also flirted with triple-doubles on several occasions. The Mo Valley junior's best game came in a win over Bellwood-Antis, where she scored 14 points, had 11 assists, came down with nine rebounds and finished with five steals.

The second team consists of Curwensville's Hannah Walls, Glendale's Morgan Biddle, Harmony's Megan Brink, Mo Valley's Shannon Greslick, P-O's Maureen Witters and West Branch's Roni Crowell.

Honorable mention status went to Clearfield's Annie Janocko and Madison Sopic, Curwensville's Tess Bloom, Glendale's Brooke Legrand, Harmony's Kierstyn Kruise, Mo Valley's Kierstin Elder, P-O's Mackenzie Wilson, Purchase Line's Kasey Rorabaugh and Cassie Brocious, and West Branch's Jada Larson.