The Gray New Goucester bench erupts after the final basket of the Class B girl’s State Championship at the Augusta Civic Center last March. Several Patriots had front-row seats as four seniors, a sophomore and a junior carried Gray-New Gloucester to the first girls’ basketball state championship in the school’s history. Playing time was sparse […]
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Posted insj-web, SJVarsity
Class C Girls: Monmouth, Boothbay still a step ahead
Monmouth’s Abbey Allen eyes the basket between Boothbay’s Nicole Clarke and Page Brown during Saturday afternoon’s game at Monmouth Academy. Dirigo coach Rebecca Fletcher might have put it best when asked about Class C South and the Mountain Valley Conference. “The league is, I think, a year stronger,” she said. And that’s difficult prospect for […]
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Ramblers' rise: Sophomore trio ready for next stage of Winthrop girls' basketball
Jillian Schmelzer, Kena Souza and Aaliyah WilsonFalcone are sophomores on the Winthrop basketball team. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal) Winthrop found itself in a close game with Oak Hill in last year’s season opener. For the Ramblers, only two seasons removed from not even having a varsity girls’ basketball team, close games were a foreign experience. In […]
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Dirigo Cougars 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
Second-year coach Rebecca Fletcher says Dirigo needs to limit turnovers and take advantage of every possession. And, of course, score. The Cougars averaged 31.3 points per game in 2016-17, which ranked ninth in the Mountain Valley Conference. “We did a pretty good job defensively, we just really struggled to score,” Fletcher said. Dirigo lost the […]
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Buckfield Bucks 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
With hardly any size and a small roster, Buckfield has a small margin for error this season. “Our team is not big in numbers or in size, so it will be critical for us to remain healthy in order to show improvement,” fourth-year coach Ryan Wilkins said. The Bucks faced a similar scenario last year, […]
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Rangeley Lakers 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
Coach: Heidi Deery (24th year) Conference: East-West; Class: D South Last year’s results: 16-4 (lost in region semifinals) Returning athletes: Senior — Natasha Haley; Juniors — Brooke Egan, Vanessa Bisson, Kylie Collins; Sophomores — Lauren Eastlack, Olivia Pye, Gabby White; Freshman — Ellah Smith. Key losses: Celia Philbrick, Sydney Royce. Promising newcomers: Junior — Amber […]
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Poland Knights 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
The starting five is back from last year’s region semifinalist. Since most of the other Class B South teams were depleted by graduation, Poland might seem in line to take a potentially large step forward in 2017-18. However, new coach Tim Dolley, who has been Poland’s JV coach for the past seven years, is more […]
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Winthrop Ramblers 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
The past few years, a resilient group of seniors led Winthrop from JV status to the double-digit wins and a postseason appearance in 2016-17, the program’s first since 2011. On the court, though, there was a trio of freshmen that was just as important to the Ramblers success last season: leading scorers Kena Souza and […]
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Mountain Valley Falcons 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
In his first four years at the helm of the Mountain Valley, Ryan Casey worked with a large, talented group of players from their freshman year through their senior year, which culminated with a 16-3 season and a playoff appearance. That group is now gone. “All nine of those graduates had a significant role,” Casey […]
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Telstar Rebels 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
Telstar is back playing varsity ball after dropping down to the JV level last year. “This group of girls has worked in the offseason to improve their game for the next level,” Brad Mills, who remains the Rebels’ coach, said. Telstar also has a good-sized crop of freshman joining the program, some of whom participated […]