While many programs rely on seniors this time of year, Whitman-Hanson is finding success with young talent.

Highlighted by sophomore guard Dylan Hurley and its four junior captains, Whitman-Hanson enters the home stretch of the MIAA regular season atop the Patriot League Keenan with a 13-2 (12-2) record.

The most impressive aspect of the Panthers success is that its roster has no seniors. It’s a familiar pattern: last season the Panthers just had one senior, captain Caitlin Leahy.

“Early on I knew we would be pretty good,” Costa said. “We had experience coming back in the aspect these girls played when they were freshmen and sophomores. Caitlin was certainly a key loss, but we knew we had good pieces coming to fill that void.”

All four of its captains — Taryn Leonard, Lille MacKinnon, Cassidy Briggs, and Kennedy Frazier — are juniors. MacKinnon is the team’s glue at both ends of the floor with her nightly double-figure scoring while guarding the opposing team’s best player. Leonard, meanwhile, averages seven points and rebounds per game.

Sophomore Jenna Mishou is the team’s leading rebounder. Defense has been the team’s calling card with the Panthers holding opponents to 38 points a night.

Despite the Panthers youth, they have shown the resilience of a veteran team on multiple occasions. On Jan. 23, Whitman-Hanson trailed Hanover by 18 points only to come storming back with Mishou scoring the game winner. Then, on Jan. 26, a 12-point second half deficit to Plymouth North turned into an overtime victory led by MacKinnon.

“When I took over the job here a few years ago, the mindset was to build a young team,” Costa said. “We wanted to build a foundation really from the ground up. Last year we only had one senior, this year we had none. It provides the best of both worlds where you’re good and you are young.”

Two seasons ago, the Panthers reached the state semifinals before succumbing in the Round of 16 a season ago. This time around, Costa is hoping challenges like the one set for Feb. 12 against Bishop Fenwick primes his group for a state tournament run. Overall, however, all eyes are focused on clinching the school’s third consecutive league title.

“We’ve been focused on containing the ball on defense and then ball security at the offensive end as we get ready for the home stretch,” Costa said. “We’ve been in a ton of tight games which you hope pays off come the end of the season.”

Jump shots

Andover completed its march to the top of the Merrimack Valley Conference on Friday.

Despite entering the season unranked, and largely relying on the play of younger players, the Golden Warriors claimed the MVC Large championship on Friday with a 74-62 win over Lowell. The No. 3 Golden Warriors have a pair of wins over Central Catholic, a win over Lawrence and North Andover, and now a victory over the aforementioned Red Raiders.

The first year at the helm for Jalen Aho has been nothing short of a success. Under Aho’s stewardship, the Masconomet girls have claimed a share of the Northeastern Conference title. The place at the top of the league comes a year after the Chieftains graduated three of their starters.