Stearns High School of Millinocket didn’t have much of a Class C North tournament run last season, but the Minutemen could be poised for a long one this season.
Stearns and George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill appear to be the teams to beat based on their impressive regular-season showings.
“Stearns is the best team I’ve seen,” said Dexter coach Jody Grant, whose Tigers ended Stearns’ tourney in the quarterfinals last season 39-32.
“They’re the most versatile team. They’re really athletic. Emma Alley is having a great senior year. She’s really hard to guard,” Grant said, referring to Stearns’ 1,000-point scorer.
“They’re fast. They get out and press you, and they’re seven to eight deep,’” Piscataquis Community High School of Guilford coach Brian Gaw said. “Emma Alley can score from anywhere, and her sister (Katherine Alley) and (Peighton) Ingersoll can also score.”
Stearns coach Mike Brown, who replaced Nick Cullen midway through the season after Cullen was placed on paid administrative leave and subsequently resigned, said his team is intense.
“We like to play an uptempo game. We play in-your-face defense,” Brown said. “We love to press. We cause 25-30 turnovers a game. And we can shoot outside.”
Senior point guard Emma Alley is averaging 20 points per game and is also one of their leading rebounders. Katherine Alley, a freshman guard, and junior forward/guard Ingersoll have also been consistent double-digit scorers.
Senior forward Mackenzie Carter (5-10) has been a top-notch rebounder along with 5-8 sophomore Julia Stanley. Junior Sidney Farquhar is the other starter at guard.
Six-foot senior forward and 1,000-point scorer Morgan Dauk led GSA to a memorable regular season. She scored 52 points in two victories over defending state Class C champ Narraguagus of Harrington.
“She’s unbelievable,” Narraguagus coach Heather Thompson said. “She’s so strong and so athletic. She can jump, she can shoot, she can do it all.”
The Eagles also have another quality inside presence in 5-11 junior Mazie Smallidge and junior guard Emma Crosby is among their outside threats.
PCHS split regular-season games with GSA and lost to Stearns by 10 and six, which makes the Pirates a team to watch in the tournament.
“Their international student made them significantly better than they were going to be,” Grant said, referring to Spanish exchange student Sara Almirante, who has teamed in the backcourt with junior Erin Speed.
The fleet Speed is the Pirates’ leading scorer and Almirante is also averaging in double figures. The duo is good for a combined 10 steals per game.
Sophomore forward Alivia Hunt is an outstanding rebounder and junior forward Lexi Harris is the team’s shutdown defender.
Madawaska had a terrific regular season and is among a group of teams that could challenge the favorites along with Woodland, Narraguagus, Fort Kent, Dexter and Calais.
Sophomore forward Jenna Dugal and senior guard Desiree Belanger both averaged over 13 points per game for the Owls.
Fort Kent had some noteworthy wins behind juniors Cassidy Lovley, Libby LaPointe and Jordan O’Learym, while Dexter 6-foot senior center Megan Peach is one of the class’s top inside players. Woodland has been guided by junior forward Jennie Cox, its leading scorer and one of the Dragons’ top rebounders, along with sophomore guard Sadie Smith.
Youthful Calais has been powered by freshmen Lauren Cook and Olivia Huckins and sophomore Sydney Farrar. Thompson said she has been pleased with her Narraguagus team’s progress after graduating three starters off last year’s team.
The Knights have been led by junior guard Madison Leighton, sophomore forward-center Kylee Joyce and senior forward Kayla Toppin, who was an all-tourney choice a year ago.
