The Messalonskee High School Eagles from Oakland reached the Class A North championship game last season only to lose to defending champ Lawrence High School of Fairfield 59-44 in the title game.
Lawrence has graduated 1,000-point scorers Nia Irving and Dominque Lewis and that elevated the Eagles into the favorite’s role and they lived up to that billing during the regular season.
But Messalonskee coach Keith DeRosby said there are “five or six teams, including us, who could make some noise in the tournament. There are a lot of teams that won tournament games a year ago and that experience goes a long way.”
The Eagles returned a solid nucleus led by game-changing Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl third-team selection Sophie Holmes. The gifted 5-8 senior guard has averaged over 20 points per game and is also among their leaders in rebounds, assists and steals.
The dramatic improvement exhibited by 5-11 junior point guard Ally Turner and tireless 5-10 senior forward McKenna Brodeur, who has supplied a formidable inside presence, have also been important along with the addition of point-producing 6-1 guard-forward Gabrielle Wener. She had five 3-pointers and 21 points in a 54-41 win over contender Hampden Academy.
Holmes and Brodeur were Class A North All-Tourney selections last year.
Nokomis of Newport, Skowhegan, Hampden, Lawrence and Gardiner are the primary threats to Messalonskee.
“Messalonskee is the team to beat,” said Hampden coach Tim Scott. “They’ve got the Holmes girl, who is probably the player of the year in the conference. And there is a real good supporting cast. They’ve got just about everyone back from last year and the Wener girl is a real solid player.”
Nokomis coach Michelle Paradis said there isn’t a lot to choose between the next seven or eight teams after Messalonskee.
“I don’t think there are going to be many blowouts in the tournament. I think they’ll all be close games,” predicted Paradis.
“Messalonskee is a good club but they aren’t as dominant as we were last year,” said Lawrence coach John Donato. “Hampden and Nokomis are right behind them and then you have Skowhegan, Lawrence, Waterville and Gardiner in the second tier.”
Six-foot-four Hampden Academy sophomore center Bailey Donovan is one of the most influential post players in the class as evidenced by her 18-point, 16-rebound performance in the 54-41 loss to Messalonskee.
“She gives us fits. How do you defend a six-foot-four girl?” asked Murray.
“She’s a game-changer,” said DeRosby. “She changes the dynamics. You have to scheme and game plan around her a little bit and that allows their other kids to shoot open shots.”
Donovan averages 15 points and 13.5 rebounds per game according to Scott, who added that Donovan has “come a long way.
“She’s stronger and more confident this year. She has great hands.”.
Juniors Brooklynn Scott, Braylee Wildman, Marissa Gilpin and Sophie Narofsky headline a strong supporting cast for the Broncos.
Nokomis has one of the most veteran teams in Class A North with seniors Olivia Brown, Sidney Moore and Austin Taylor along with junior Chelsea Crockett supplying quality performances on a consistent basis. Five-foot-11 sophomore Gabby Lord has been an outstanding addition.
Lawrence is undersized but the Bulldogs are capable of posing problems for anyone if they shoot well and they have a pair of three-point specialists in Hunter Mercier and Camryn Caldwell who can light it up. They also have an impressive point guard in Morgan Boudreau.
Gardiner’s standout seniors Lauren Chadwick, an all-tourney pick, and Mary Toman have led the Tigers to four tournament wins the past two seasons and Mike LeBlanc’s youthful Skowhegan Indians are “very scrappy and very aggressive” according to DeRosby.
LeBlanc’s starting lineup consists of Sydney Reed, Sydney Ames, Annie Cooke, Mariah Dunbar and Alyssa Everett.
Jordan Jabar is an exceptional scorer and player for Waterville.
