You could field a complete team with the players that have left the University of Maine women’s basketball program since the end of the 2007-08 season.

That team would now include a 6-foot-2 center with strong local ties and a world of potential.

Christina Mosher of Farmington has left the Black Bears to pursue other opportunities, according to a one-sentence university press release issued Friday. Mosher was not immediately available for comment.

Playing time was plentiful in Mosher’s freshman year, and she appeared poised to play a larger role in the undermanned Black Bears’ plans for 2008-09.

Mosher averaged just over 15 minutes per game in 23 appearances last season, scoring 4.6 points and hauling down 3.7 rebounds per game.

She is one of five players to step away from the Maine program since last winter. That was the completion of the Black Bears’ first full season under former schoolgirl hoop legend and 3,000-point collegiate scorer Cindy Blodgett.

Mosher was part of former coach Ann McInerney’s final recruiting class before her resignation.

Emily Rousseau, Sandra Vaitkute, Magdala Johnson and Brittany Bowen preceded Mosher in parting ways with Maine.

Rousseau, a Biddeford native, and Johnson each transferred to Division II schools.

The defections leave Maine with only 10 players on its roster.

The big 80s

Freshmen don’t frequently make an immediate impact with the Maine Maritime Academy football team.

Nick Bourassa of Jay changed that line of thinking with two huge plays in the first quarter of last Saturday’s game against Western New England College.

Bourassa went the distance with an 84-yard kickoff return. He added an 86-yard touchdown run on the Mariners’ fourth play from scrimmage.

The resulting 14-0 lead gave MMA a leg up in a 42-35 win, one that turned around a frustrating start to the season. The Mariners lost their first two games by a total of five points.

Jim Bower of South Paris (Oxford Hills) rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns for Maine Maritime. Bourassa finished with 123 yards on only seven carries.

Bourassa received the John Taglienti Award last fall as the outstanding player in the Class C division of the Campbell Conference.

Repeat offender

Six games into the field hockey season at Saint Joseph’s College, senior Gina Gaetani of Auburn (Edward Little) matched the entire goal output of her previous three-year career.

Gaetani stands third on her team with seven goals and two assists for 16 points. That includes a hat trick in the Monks’ 9-1 rout of Wheelock last week.

Four goals and six assists as a junior increased Gaetani’s totals to seven of each entering her senior season.

St. Joe’s is off to a 5-1 start and is undefeated in the North Atlantic Conference.

Two other local players have made an impact for St. Joe’s. Multi-sport standout Jillian Kimball of Albany Township (Telstar) has started every game on the back line, supplementing her defense with two goals and six assists. In five starts, Jaimee Brett of Otisfield (Oxford Hills) has logged one assist.

Ramble on

Two former Winthrop field hockey stars continue to shine at the collegiate level.

Elyse Cole connected for her first two goals of the season last week, leading the University of Maine at Farmington to an 8-0 shutout of Thomas. Alyssa St. Pierre of Jay also scored a goal for the Beavers, who improved to 3-3.

Nicole Emery is serving as captain for the University of Maine, starting five of the first games at forward for the Black Bears (3-4).