PORTLAND — It’s the matchup most of Western B has been waiting for.

Big vs. small. Offense vs. defense. Outside vs. inside.  20-0 vs. 20-0. Leavitt vs. York.

The Hornets have been on a collision course with the defending Class B champions all season, and that meeting finally happens at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The frantic-paced, high-scoring, defensive-trapping Leavitt girls finally get the challenge of the taller, potent, defensively-tough and experienced Wildcats.

“The kids love challenges,” Leavitt coach Tammy Anderson said following her team’s victory in the semifinal round. “They knocked off Waterville to break up their winning streak. They beat Cony for the first time and won (Thursday in the semifinal). They’ll come and give me everything they’ve got.”

Leavitt has done all that in a big way. When the Hornets ended the Purple Panthers’ 67-game streak in 2009, they thumped Waterville. They shrugged off years of futility and returned to the playoffs. They posted the program’s best-ever record last year and then topped it this year. 

When Leavitt returned to the Civic Center on Thursday, where it lost to Greely a year ago in the semifinals, the Hornets ran all over a fine defensive Lake Region team. They averaged 78.7 points per game this year and have allowed only 39.5.

Senior guard Courtney Anderson, one of the 10 semifinalists for Miss Basketball, led the Hornets with 23.1 points while her sophomore sister, Kristen Anderson, added 16 points and 6.5 rebounds. Junor forward Adrie Newton has been a force inside and averaged 17.2 points and 7.7 rebounds. She had 18 against the Lakers. Fellow senior starter Abbey Randall has averaged 7.8 points.

It is a team that has been together since grade school and only lost one player from last year. They work well together and feed off each other’s energy. That is evident in the way they run the fast break and shoot offensively but more so in their aggressive defense. They like to force turnovers and take a team out of its game. Leavitt was able to do that against the Lakers and have frustrated many teams that same way.

“We don’t try to steal off the dribble,” said Anderson. “It’s just making them make the mistakes. We just try to be aggressive and make them work for everything they do. Eventually, we hope that will wear down people.”

Leavitt faces a York team that has won 42 consecutive games. The Wildcats scored 60 points per game and averaged 26 against. York only had two games decided by 20 points or fewer, and won by an average of 34 points.

The Wildcats are led by center Nicole Taylor, a likely Miss Basketball finalist who will play college ball at Vermont. Taylor averaged 16 points and 9.4 rebounds.

“We know her personally from playing AAU with my daughters,” Anderson said. “We’re going to try to keep her off the boards.”

Fellow senior Stephanie Gallagher, a forward/guard headed for USM, averaged 13.7 points while the other starters, senior forward Chelsea Morley (6.1 ppg), junior guard Andrea Mountford (2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.7 apg) and sophomore forward Emily Campbell (5.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), provide balance, size inside and a strong outside shooting game. The Wildcats are tough defensively and have depth. They can also adapt to different styles of play.

“You have to make them execute their offense and force them into mistakes,” said Anderson.

Though Leavitt can score in transition and can feed the post, the Hornets are at their rapid-fire best when they’re dropping outside shots from all angles. When Leavitt is doing that, it can make it tough for any team to keep pace.

“We’re going to have to hit our shots,” said Anderson.

Leavitt has never won a regional final while York is going for its second in a row and sixth overall.

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