By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

BANGOR – Katie Rollins never got the chance to hold the Gold Ball amid all the chaos of last weekend’s Class A state championship victory over McAuley.

Friday night, the Cony High School senior didn’t have to share top honors with anyone. The 6-foot-2 center was named Miss Basketball at the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches Awards Dinner at Husson College.

Portland’s Tyler Emmons was named Mr. Basketball.

Rollins, who grew up in Auburn before moving to Augusta in sixth grade, was a finalist for Miss Basketball along with Dirigo’s Alexa Kaubris and South Portland’s Whitney Morrow.

Rollins is the first Cony player to win the award since Amy Vachon in 1996.

“I think that definitely says something,” said Rollins. “Amy was definitely a great player and to be put in the same light as her is unbelievable.”

Rollins led Cony to the Class A title with an impressive 24-point performance against the Lions. Rollins, who will attend Harvard, was also a member of the Maine McDonald’s All-State Academic team.

Her team won three regional titles and one state title in her four-year career. Rollins became Cony’s all-time leading scorer this year, averaging nearly 22 points per game and 10 rebounds.

“It’s definitely a team thing,” said Rollins. “I know individually I’m being recognized for it. Without my team, I wouldn’t be as good a player, especially without Coach (Paul) Vachon. He’s a great mentor.”

Morrow, the 5-10 Red Riots guard, averaged 18 points and six rebounds and four assists. Morrow, recently named Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year, did not attend Friday’s banquet because of a college visit.

Kaubris, a 5-8 forward, led the Cougars to four straight Western C titles and three state championships, finishing her career with a 90-1 record. She surpassed the 1,000-point mark and was a two-time Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year. She averaged nearly 17 points per game with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Kaubris is also on the All-Academic team.

“It was a little nerve-wracking, but it was nice to be up there with Katie,” said Kaubris. “Knowing that Whitney Morrow was the other girl up for it, I didn’t even know I was being considered for something like that. It’s a great honor. I’m pretty happy.”

Kaubris says just sharing the limelight with Rollins was a thrill. So she wasn’t at all disheartened with the outcome.

“Katie deserves it the most,” said Kaubris. “If you’ve ever seen her play, she’s such a dominant player, and she’s the nicest person too.”

Emmons, a 6-5 forward, averaged 17.2 points and 16.5 rebounds for the Bulldogs and was named the Western A tournament’s most valuable player.

The other finalists for Mr. Basketball were Gorham’s Ben Thayer and Camden Hills’s Tim Stammen, who led their teams to the Class B state finals.

The Bob Brown Contributor Award went to tournament directors Bill Fletcher and Bob Whytock.

Presque Isle’s Chris Carlin and Yarmouth’s Aylie Baker were the recipients of $1,000 Maine McDonald’s All-State Academic Scholarships.