WELLS — As the only returning starter for a Wells team without a senior on the roster, but plenty of talent to match its youth, Alison Furness had plenty on her shoulders entering the 2012-13 season.

After helping lead the Warriors within a possession of the Western Class B regional final, and averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds a game, it’s safe to say the versatile junior forward more than met the challenge. For that, she’s been named the Journal Tribune Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Furness was the lone underclassmen starter for a senior-laden Warriors team that went 14-6 and made it to the playoff quarterfinals her sophomore season, averaging 12.3 points and 7.4 boards a game to earn first-team all-Western Conference honors in 2011-12.

But in addition to filling the stat sheet, Furness also needed to step into the primary leadership position on the floor this past season for coach Don Abbott, a test he said his “quintessential gym rat” passed with flying colors.

“She was sort of a natural leader for us in terms that we knew she was going to be somebody who provided plenty of experience for us after starting all 20 games as a sophomore,” Abbot said. “She’s just more of a quiet leader though. She leads by example and lets her play do the talking.

“I just think she became a little more comfortable in her own skin on the floor.”

As all good players do, Furness was at her best when the stage was the biggest and the games mattered most this season.

After a 22-point loss to rival York that dropped the Warriors to 3-7, Furness scored 14 points to lead Wells to a 38-36 victory over Freeport on Jan. 17. The Falcons had beaten Wells 52-33 less than a month before, and despite being guarded by fellow WMC first-team performer Nina Davenport, Furness willed her team to a victory to right the Warriors’ ship.

And less than 24 hours after a tough 32-30 loss to Falmouth Jan. 25 that threatened to push Wells out of the playoff picture entirely, Furness scored 16 later to lead the Warriors to a massive 57-49 victory over eventual Class C state champions Waynflete, which all but secured a postseason berth.

“I think those two games were ones that really showed those girls that they could play with and beat anybody,” Abbott said.

Entering the playoffs at 8-10 and as the 11 seed, not much was expected of the Warriors, but Furness scored a season-high 22 points to lead them past sixth-seeded Gray-New Gloucester 53-46 in the prelims.

“I think the Gray-New Gloucester game was the best game of her season,” Abbott said. “She basically took over in the second half and had 18 of her 22 points in the second half. On the road in a playoff game where obviously your season is on the line, I thought that was a huge performance.

“As (Gray-New Gloucester coach Mike Andreasen) told me after the game, she was the best player in the gym and she played like it.”

Furness then scored a team-high 11 points as Wells knocked off third-seeded and previously undefeated Spruce Mountain 43-42 at the Expo in the quarterfinals, and scored a game-high 15 in the narrow two-point loss to York in a thrilling regional semifinal.

“I think this year she really welcomed the opportunity to play in those big games,” Abbott said. “I think she sat two or three minutes combined across our three playoff games. We’re just a better team when she’s on the floor and she knows that, and we look to her, and that’s a role that she embraces.”

With Furness and the rest of this season’s cast all returning next year, Abbott said he was already champing at the bit for November to role around.

The coach said he expects Furness to take an even bigger step forward her senior season, when she and her teammates will be even more comfortable playing together with this year’s experience under their belts.

“I think that she’s going to have a huge season next year for us, and we’re excited to have her and everybody else back,” Abbott said. “I look for her to be more assertive next year and really kind of wear that mantle of being a senior.”

— Contact Cameron Dunbar at 282-1535, Ext. 323.