Second-year coach Heather Thompson and her 10-0 Narraguagus High School girls basketball team from Harrington are highly motivated this season.
The Knights were 14-4 and the top seed in the Eastern Maine Class C tournament a year ago, but got upset in the quarterfinals by Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln 41-31.
“We’ve lost in the quarterfinals all three years I’ve been here,” said senior forward and tri-captain Cassidy Osgood. “That is driving us to succeed this year. For the seniors, it’s our last run.”
Thompson said she played on the only Narraguagus team to reach the regional finals in 1992, where it lost to Schenck of East Millinocket, and that has made her “gung-ho” to lead her team to a championship.
Thompson hasn’t been surprised by her team’s success.
“I knew I had a great group of girls,” said Thompson. “We have so much team chemistry. It’s a great feeling.”
Senior tri-captain Kelli Kennedy has been the catalyst.
The 5-foot-11 center is averaging 23 points and 11-12 rebounds per game.
“She’s special. She can do it all. She can shoot, rebound and pass. She’s our go-to player. And she’s an excellent team leader,” Thompson said.
“You can put her in any position on the floor,” said Osgood. “She’s strong and knows the game well.”
“She’s an amazing player and person,” said senior guard and tri-captain Emily Reynolds. “She always does her best.”
Kennedy said she never thought about being a 1,000-point scorer when she was a freshman and is pleased to have accomplished the feat.
She feels she has improved every year “as has the team.”
“I’ve done a better job getting open and I’m stronger this year,” said Kennedy, who added that she has also been more effective under the basket.
The 5-3 Reynolds is the team’s second-leading rebounder with eight per game and she also averages seven points.
“She’s 5-3 but she plays like she’s 6 feet tall,” said Thompson.
Osgood, a 5-9 forward, contributes seven points and five rebounds per game.
The point guard is 5-2 sophomore Madison Leighton, who has averaged eight points, five assists and five steals per game.
“She’s very smart, very dedicated and very quick,” said Thompson.
Junior Kayla Toppin is the shooting guard and is considered the team’s most improved player, according to Thompson. She has been providing them with 7.5 points per game.
Narraguagus also has received valuable contributions off the bench from athletic freshman point guard Lanie Perry, junior guard Caitlin Reynolds, the fast, scrappy sister of Emily, and freshman forward Kyle Joyce, a solid post player.
“They are, by far, the best team we’ve played this year,” said Machias coach Brad Prout, whose team lost to Narraguagus 70-22 earlier this season. “They’re very good. They have balanced scoring and they put a lot of good full-court pressure on you.”
“Going into the season, we wanted to be strong defensively,” said Thompson. “We wanted to put pressure on the ball, cause turnovers and hope that would lead to offense.
“It has worked well for us,” she said.
The Knights have averaged 67.2 points per game while holding opponents to 28.1.
The most notable win this season was a 46-38 triumph over perennial power Calais at Calais on Jan. 5.
“That was huge for us. But we treat every game the same. They’re all big games to us,” Thompson said.
“Right now, we’re just focusing on having success in every game,” said Kennedy.
“We all want to win a gold ball,” said Reynolds. “But we aren’t looking beyond anything. We’re taking things one step at a time.”
The players said the valuable team chemistry has evolved from all the years they have played together and their close friendships.
“We’ve love each other off the court as well as on the court and that really helps,” said Reynolds. “We really work together as a team. It’s not just about one person.”