As the regular season winds down, there are only three teams among the 70 in the five classes in the North girls basketball ranks that are undefeated. Two of them are in Class C.
The other, going into Wednesday night’s action, is Class D Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook (15-0).
Stearns High School of Millinocket leads the Class C Heal Point standings at 14-0 and Calais is third at 15-0. Fort Fairfield is second at 13-2.
The Minutemen and Blue Devils are the clear-cut favorites, but there are a handful of teams that are legitimate challengers. They include Central Aroostook of Mars Hill, Narraguagus of Harrington, Penobscot Valley of Howland, Dexter and Fort Fairfield.
Stearns continues to be led by the Alley sisters. Senior Katherine is a 1,000-point scorer who is averaging 19 points per game and anchors a Stearns defense allowing just 30.4 points per game. Sophomore Alisyn is averaging 14 points, eight rebounds, six steals and six assists.
Annalys Robinson, 5-foot-11 junior forward, has produced nine points and seven rebounds per game for the Minutemen, who are averaging 59.5 points per game and surrendering just 30.4.
The high-scoring Blue Devils are racking up 72.6 points per game thanks to an arsenal of quality 3-point shooters. They are led by Lauren Cook (20 ppg), Olivia Huckins (15 ppg) and Sophie McVicar (13 ppg). Elizabeth Bitar and Sage Phillips provide the Blue Devils with a solid inside game as well. Their opponents are scoring only 38 points per contest.
Despite their dominance thus far, Stearns and Calais expect to be challenged by a handful of teams once they get to the postseason.
Here are five teams that could upset the favorites:
Central Aroostook (13-4): Even though sharp-shooting guard Katie Levesque decided not to play this season, coach Dillon Kingsbury’s team features 1,000-point scorer Breann Bradbury and an impressive supporting cast featuring junior guards Maci Beals and Libby Grass and forward Sydney Garrison.
The Panthers have scored at least 69 points five times and their four losses have been to Southern Aroostook, by an average of six points, and to Class B Houlton, by an average of eight points.
Houlton is 9-7 and in fifth place in Class B.
Narraguagus (14-1): The Knights have a terrific record but it has come against a weak schedule. Narragagus’ only setback was a season-opening 65-56 home loss to Calais but its 14 wins have come at the expense of teams whose records average out to 4-11.
Coach Bill McVicar said the Knights are nonetheless a legitimate contender.
“They have some nice players,” said McVicar, who listed Kaci Alley, Kirstin Kennedy and Anna Strout among their top players.
The Knights create a lot of turnovers and transition baskets off their press.
Penobscot Valley (9-6): The defending Class C North champion’s record isn’t surprising given its schedule. The Howlers have lost twice to Stearns, twice to Calais and once each to reigning Class D South champ Greenville and 7-7 Class D team Schenck of East Millinocket.
Three of the losses were by eight points or less.
They own the only victory over Greenville and two over 10-4 Dexter.
Lexi Ireland is a dominant post player with exceptional versatility. She can also handle the point guard role if need be.
She had 18 of her team’s 25 points in the state championship game loss to Boothbay Region last season.
“If their role players can throw in some shots, they’ll be scary,” Stearns coach Nick Cullen said.
Dexter (10-4): The Tigers have been competitive, despite being without standout all-around performer Avery Herrick, who isn’t playing this season. Dexter relies on its aggressive, half-court defense and the shooting of junior guard and 1,000-point scorer Peyton Grant, daughter of Dexter coach Jody Grant.
Dexter has allowed only 29.1 points per game and three of its four losses have been by six points or less. That includes five- and four-point setbacks to Penobscot Valley and a six-point loss to Greenville.
“Their help-side defense is amazing and Peyton Grant is capable of scoring 35 points on any given night,” Cullen said.
“They’re well-coached, they play gritty defense and they are extremely patient on offense,” McVicar said.
Fort Fairfield (13-2): Coach Larry Gardner’s Tigers have played only four games against Class C schools with winning records in Central Aroostook and 11-5 Hodgdon. However, Fort has a quality team led by senior forward Cammi King-Demerchant, junior forward Kourtney West and sophomore guard Camryn Ala.
The Tigers swept Hodgdon but lost by 10 and 16 to Central Aroostook.
So, while Stearns and Calais are unbeaten with two weeks left in the regular season, there are a handful of other contenders with the tournament looming.