By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

After shutting down Hall-Dale last weekend, the Dirigo Cougars hope that defensive stand was just a warm-up for Friday night.

Dirigo took away the Bulldogs bite in the regional final and hope to tame the Dexter Tigers the same way at the Bangor Auditorium in tonight’s Class C state championship rematch.

Dirigo did a fine job limiting production of Hall-Dale’s two six-foot post players. The Cougars allowed a total of 24 points between the two and held the Bulldogs to their lowest output of the season.

“That was really good practice for us,” said senior guard Brooke Weston. “Having the two big girls and having to defend them, we had to also help if they got the ball into the post. The guards jobs are to pressure the guards enough so they don’t have the opportunity to get it into the post.”

The Tigers (21-0) rely heavily on senior center 6-foot-4 center Ashley Ames and her 6-foot-6 sophomore sister, Mallory. Ashley Ames averaged nearly 24 points in the Eastern C tourney as the Tigers extended its winnings streak to 43 straight games.

“With the unbelievable size they have, you have to make some adjustments,” said Dirigo coach Gavin Kane. “It’s probably the only time you’ll ever see a 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-6 girl on the floor on the same team in the history of girls’ basketball in Maine.”

Though it is a taller order than playing against Hall-Dale’s Caitlyn Laflin and Chelsey Dionne, the Ames sister are less mobile. That’s something the Cougars have to take advantage of.

“We just know we have to get them in transition,” sophomore guard Katherine Gagne. “That’s the main thing we’ve been working on. It’s going to be a tough one, but we’re going to try to work through it.”

Dirigo (21-0) lost to Dexter last year in Augusta, 50-31. The Ames sisters combined for just 17 points but were able to limit the Cougars effectiveness offensively and on the boards. What hurt the Cougars most was the shooting of guards Brittany Veazie, Keriann Patterson and Sabrina Cote. Those three combined for 27 points. Only Cote , who averaged seven points during the Eastern C tourney, remains in the backcourt for the Tigers. The Cougars hope its defense can feast on Dexter’s less experienced guards.

“One thing we hope will be a difference is that Dexter isn’t known for their perimeter prowess,” said Kane, whose team beat Dexter in overtime two years ago in Bangor. “The Veazie girl and the Patterson girl a year ago came right out and stuck some perimeter shots. That blew our game plan right out of the water in the first quarter.”

Offensively, the Cougars struggled to get much going last year. After scoring 13 points in the first quarter, Dirigo managed just seven, eight and three over the final three respectively. The Cougars have boasted balance down the stretch, getting points in the post from Michelle Holmquist and Holly Knight while Weston and Alexa Kaubris have chipped in from the outside. Dirigo has consistently gotten output from over a half dozen players in the playoffs.

“We’ve just tweaked our motion offense a little bit from what we normally do during the year and have tried to make some subtle changes to give ourselves some better scoring opportunities,” said Kane. “That’s going to be a big key to the game for us. We’re going to need to score early in order to set up our pressure on the defensive end of the floor and try to dictate the tempo of the game.”

The Cougars only had one senior last year and have all but two players returning. Many of those players were just freshmen and sophomores last year.

“We’re pretty confident,” said Gagne. “We have four seniors now and a couple juniors and sophomores. We’re all pretty experienced. We think we’re ready.”

Dirigo has tried to simplify its game plan. Rather than get too caught up in what Dexter is doing, the Cougars know they’re success depends on executing its game.

“I’m definitely not as nervous as last year,” said Weston. “We’re used to playing with each other, and they lost two great guards. It’s not that their guards aren’t good. They’re a very good skilled team, but I feel we have a lot less to worry about, and we can concentrate on the Ames sisters.”