For the past two years, Amy Vachon of Cony and Bri Fecteau of Westbrook have been considered the state’s two best guards. The seniors’ statistics and styles beg for comparison, and their uncanny abilities to find the open shot, lane, and shooter have wowed fans since each was a freshman on her varsity team.

Both were candidates for the Miss Maine Basketball award, and the two spend their second consecutive year on the Bangor Daily News’ All-Maine Schoolgirl Basketball First Team.

The 20th annual team features familiar faces with 15 roster spots taken by 11 seniors.

On the first team, fellow Miss Basketball candidate Katie Clark of Bangor joins Vachon and Fecteau, as do forward-centers Kelly Dow of Calais and Jan Beal of Jonesport-Beals.

Erin Cole-Karagory of Caribou leads the second team and is accompanied by guards Holli Tapley of Calais, Allison Marshall of Marshwood, and Rebecca Fletcher of Dirigo and swing player Jen LaRouche of Old Orchard Beach.

Kim Condon of Presque Isle and Erskine Academy’s Christy Northrup head up an athletic third team. Bucksport’s Christy Grover, the Eastern B League North Division’s Player of the Year; Christine Huber of Cony of Augusta; and Gorham’s Julie Plant also receive third-team honors.

Nine All-Mainers will play collegiate basketball next year, as Vachon and Clark go to the University of Maine and Beal moves to University of New Hampshire, while Fecteau and Huber will be at Division II’s Bentley College and the University of New Haven, respectively. They will all be on scholarships. Dow and Northrup will play at Husson College, Cole-Karagory will be at Colby College, and the University of Southern Maine will add Plant to the roster.

The NEWS All-Maine team honors the state’s 15 top players, regardless of class, position, or region, as selected by the NEWS sports staff with input from coaches, officials, and other veteran observers.

First Team

Vachon spends her third straight year on the All-Maine team, after wrapping up an impressive career at Cony. The senior point guard leaves as the Augusta school’s all-time assist, steal, and scoring leader, and with two state basketball titles.

While her numbers have declined slightly since last season’s 19.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, Vachon’s 10.1 assists and 7.2 steals made up the difference.

“I think she’s a prototype, like a John Stockton, who will lead the team in assists and leadership,” Cony coach and Amy’s dad, Paul Vachon, said. “She led us in steals and she plays very good defense.”

Regarded as one of the state’s two best guards, Fecteau’s command of the floor and hoop instincts are unquestionable.

“We had a program in the third grade, and when this little girl passed off to somebody who couldn’t handle the pass, she didn’t get discouraged, she just kept working on it and making better passes that they could handle,” Westbrook coach Ben Palubinskas said.

Fecteau saved her best performances for the Blue Blazes’ three state title games, including 16 second-half points to finish with 22 points in this year’s 54-51 loss to Cony.

“She has that uncanny ability to find the open person,” Palubinskas said. “She’s able to break the press with her dribbling, and she makes basketball interesting.”

Clark made Bangor’s basketball team what it was, scoring 557 of the team’s 1,112 points this season, to notch her 1,000th career point and become the Rams’ all-time scoring leader.

The 6-foot-1 center put together a complete game this season – dominating the post, at ease as a guard, and acting as a ferocious point in the team’s 1-3-1 defense to collect 4.7 steals per game.

“Obviously, she has great God-given talent, she has great size, quickness, and instinct, and her love for the game is incredible,” Bangor coach Tom Tennett said. “I’ve never seen a person work harder at the game than Katie does. She really goes at it with a drive that most kids don’t have.”

Beal bloomed in the Royalettes’ state title run, which ended in a 30-rebound, 27-point performance in Jonesport-Beals’ win over Richmond.

A unanimous Eastern Maine Class D tournament MVP pick, Beal averaged 25.3 points and 13 rebounds in three tourney games.

“In every playoff game we were in, she dominated,” Royalettes coach Blaine Steeves said. “Any team that played us, they had to prepare to stop Jan Beal.”

“She’s a player who is an impact player, and if you don’t prepare for Jan Beal, you’re going to lose,” Steeves said.

Dow hurt a lot of smaller frontcourts this season, making them pay for errors and for giving her an ouside shot.

“You have to say her height is one part of her success, knowing that she’s taller than most of her competitors,” Blue Devils coach Bob McShane said.

But long hours on the court with her family were the foundation of Dow’s skills.

“They prepared a great foundation when she was younger,” McShane said.

Second Team

The heart of Caribou’s young team, Cole-Karagory carried the scoring and leadership loads.

“We depended on one kid to carry the load, and when others didn’t step up, it was a long night,” Caribou coach George Moran said. “She was always the first one on the floor – literally – she was always the first diving for balls.

“There was no let-up, she made the other kids better by example in the practice sessions.”

Tapley’s 3-point prowess complimented Dow’s inside game, but her six assists and five steals each game helped fuel the Blue Devils’ burn.

“She doesn’t have a great basketball body, but she has the mind,” McShane said. “She sees the floor very well, that’s her thing.”

Fletcher, who is considering Merrimack, the University of New England, UM-Farmington, and USM, had the game of her life to rob Calais of its Class C state championship hopes, netting 35 points to lead the injured and undermanned Cougars to the title.

“She’s so unselfish, all year long, we tried to get her to shoot the ball more, but she has the point guard mentality, and was looking to dish off first and shoot second,” Dirigo coach Gavin Kane said.

The graduation loss of seven top players forced Marshall’s move from forward to guard this season.

“It put her in a very, very difficult situation, and I don’t think we would have ever been able to win 10 games without her changing her style,” Marshwood coach Mike Lewis said.

Marshall, who is considering Brown, Bowdoin, Worcester Polytechnical Institute, and Boston University, finishes her career as the Hawks’ all-time steal leader with 367.

After a broken right arm in junior high forced her to play lefthanded for a season, LaRouche has expanded her game further.

“To be honest with you, she’s great with both hands,” Seagulls coach Dean Plante said. “She can do it all, she’s 6 feet, she’s our best shooter, she’s really talented. She’s the real deal.”

Third Team

Mid-Maine Conference observers considered Northrup the league’s best all-around player this season.

“She’s a blue-collar, hard-nosed young lady,” Erskine Academy coach Scott Corey said. “She’s always trying to create new moves and she’s mad at her self when she doesn’t complete an old-fashioned 3-point play.”

Steve Condon was last listed on the Third Team in 1970 before jumping to the first team a year later. His daughter, Kim, earned the respect of Big East coaches with a breakthrough season and the honor he received 26 years ago.

“She was a big factor. We really had some pretty good players, and they all played their roles real well,” Wildcats coach Dick Barstow said. “There’s been some games this year when people have gone box-and-1 or diamond-and-1 and she didn’t lose a step.”

An All-American soccer star who will also play soccer at New Haven, Huber provided a small Cony team with a strong inside presence.

“We’re not very tall, and with her ability, people were afraid of her inside game,” Paul Vachon said. “She’s really a young player as far as basketball goes.”

Averaging double figures in points and rebounds, Grover also put in the time on defense with 3.95 blocks per game as the Golden Bucks tracked their first postseason appearance in 10 years.

“She’s got good footwork, she’s strong, and she catches the ball well,” Bucksport coach Mike Archer said. “And some of those things you can’t teach, you’re born with them, and then she has put the work in.”

At 5-7, guard Plant turned out to be the Rams’ second-leading rebounder, averaging 8.3 rebounds and one blocked shot each game.

“If I played a zone, she actually played down in the zone because she was so quick and she got the rebounds,” Gorham coach Carol Merrifield said.

1996 All-Maine Schoolgirl Basketball Team

FIRST TEAM

Name School Year Pos. Height PPG RPG

Amy Vachon Cony Senior G 5-7 16.2 4.1 Bri Fecteau Westbrook Senior G 5-8 20.1 6.3 Katie Clark Bangor Senior F 6-1 27.9 9.8 Jan Beal Jonesport-Beals Senior C 6-1 18.2 14.0 Kelly Dow Calais Senior C-F 6-2 20.0 7.0

SECOND TEAM

Name School Year Pos. Height PPG RPG

Erin Cole-Karagory Caribou Senior F 5-10 21.5 7.7 Jen LaRouche Old Orchard Beach Soph. G-F 5-11 24.0 13.0 Holli Tapley Calais Junior G 5-7 20.0 7.0 Rebecca Fletcher Dirigo Senior G 5-6 15.2 3.3 Allison Marshall Marshwood Senior F-G 5-8 18.2 10.6

THIRD TEAM

Name School Year Pos. Height PPG RPG

Christy Northrup Erskine Academy Senior G-F 5-5 18.7 4.0 Kim Condon Presque Isle Junior F 5-10 17.7 6.1 Christine Huber Cony Senior F-C 5-9 14.2 8.2 Christy Grover Bucksport Fresh. C 6-2 18.2 12.1 Julie Plant Gorham Senior G 5-7 14.8 8.3

HONORABLE MENTION: Liza Doughty, Sr., Hermon; Wendy Ivey, Sr., Hodgdon; Chris Roberts, Sr., Cape Elizabeth; Kerri Russell, Jr., Penquis; Erin Shaw, Jr., Mount Desert Island; Katie d’Entremont, Sr., York; Cara Moir, Sr., Stearns; Mia Lombardo, Sr., Georges Valley; Jodi Kenniston, Soph., Rockland; Carolyn Brown, Jr., Edward Little; Payson Swan, Sr., Windham; Jen Freese, Sr. and Susan Gardner, Soph., Orono; Ali Hathaway, Sr., Hampden; Sue Picard, Jr., Thornton Academy; Erica Veilleux, Soph., Lawrence; Jodi Quint, Sr., Hodgdon; Kelly Dow, Jr., Foxcroft Academy; Stacey Gelinas, Soph., Biddeford; Kristi Carver, Sr., Jonesport-Beals