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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Maine high school sports
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Mt. Blue Cougars 2016-17 girls' basketball preview
The way second-year coach Fred Conlogue figures it, Mt. Blue needs to be five points better in each direction. The Cougars scored about 35 points and allowed around 45 during their 5-13 campaign in 2016-17. “We feel if we can cut the 45 down to 40 and get the offense up to 40, we going […]
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Gray-New Gloucester Patriots 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
Gray-New Gloucester lost two-thirds of the scoring from its one-loss, state championship team to graduation, but its still an interesting team in 2017-18. “We’ve got some pretty good pieces,” seventh-year coach Michael Andreasen said. “Obviously, not as experienced as we have been.” Specifically, that is a reference to the returns of junior Bri Jordan and […]
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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 […]
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Class B Girls: Agile Gray-New Gloucester hopes for encore, region up for grabs
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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Monmouth Mustangs 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
Monmouth’s goal-setting meeting before the season was simple and to-the-point. “I looked at them and I said, ‘I assume all of you guys want to win another gold ball,’” eighth-year Mustangs coach Scott Wing said. “And they all just, in unison, went, yep.” Not all the juniors on last year’s state championship team return for […]
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St. Dominic Academy Saints 2017-18 girls' basketball preview
St. Dom’s came so close last year. So close to a winning record, as the Saints had a handful of losses by less than five points. So close to the Class C South quarterfinals, falling against Madison in the preliminary round by only four points. And close to who knows what else after that. They […]
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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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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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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 […]