‘Jammers keep wind in the sails Camden Hills unfazed by graduation losses

ROCKPORT – Like most of the girls basketball teams that won regional or state championships last year, the Camden-Rockport (now Camden Hills) girls had a strong senior class that dominated. The Windjammers earned the Class B state crown with six seniors, including All-Maine first-teamer Meg Cressler, standout point guard Anna Sommo and tournament starters Deedra Beveridge and Rebecca Neville.

They all graduated, leaving significant holes at almost every position. Yet Camden Hills continues to do well. The Windjammers are 10-3 after Tuesday’s victory over Maranacook of Readfield and were ranked No. 1 in the most recent Heal Point standings.

So how has Camden Hills thrived unlike other championship teams with marquee senior players such as Jonesport-Beals, George Stevens of Blue Hill, Mt. Blue of Farmington, and Gorham?

“I think we have a very, very strong program all the way up through,” said 6-foot senior forward Anna Goodale. “At the varsity level we have a lot of basketball behind us and that really helps.”

A well-rounded offense has also been key. Six-foot junior forward Lauren Withey, a returning starter from the tournament, is leading the ‘Jammers in scoring with 14.6 points per game, but the Windjammers have gotten offensive contributions from 5-10 senior forward Toni-Lynn Robbins (a starter for much of the regular season last year), sophomore guard Charlotte Croce, and junior guard-forward Tara Wood.

Senior guard Karinna Russo, junior guard-forward Lucy Sommo (Anna’s sister), and junior guard Megan Dailey have all seen significant playing time as well.

The emergence of Withey and Robbins has changed the look of a team that ran a dangerous full-court press last year. With the taller players, the ‘Jammers are going more to an inside game.

“We chose our spots to pressure the ball, depending more on the flow of the game and who we’re playing,” coach Jay Carlsen said. “We’ve got much more size and we’ve really looked to get the ball inside more than ever. That’s where our success has been, in getting to the free-throw line.”

There was a sense, Goodale said, that the Windjammers were starting over, and not just in changing the team’s style of play. The girls on this year’s squad had never played together because of the wealth of seniors last year, and getting to know each other was an early-season goal.

“One of the biggest challenges off the court this year has been to really connect as a team,” she said. “We trying to make a statement about who we are as this year’s team, not as defending state champions.”

Islesboro hopes to avenge loss

The Islesboro boys basketball team has just cruised through the season so far with an 11-0 record after Wednesday’s 79-49 victory over Class C Searsport. But this weekend the Eagles may face their biggest test yet in a pair of games they’ve been looking forward to since last February.

Islesboro will play a pair of games Friday night and Saturday morning at Kents Hill, the squad that upset the Eagles in the quarterfinals of the Western Maine Class D tournament last year after Islesboro’s 16-2 regular season.

“[The tournament loss] has been on their brains,” said Islesboro coach Donnie Shand, who didn’t play high school basketball but did play football at Brewer for coach Ken Perrone in the 1970s.

“Kents Hill came prepared for the tournament and we didn’t. I let us go to the tournament on what got us there and didn’t make adjustments for the tournament level,” Shand added. “It’s a whole different ball game, the intensity, the level of play. We weren’t ready, but we will be this year.”

Travis Tatro, a 6-foot-2 guard who transferred to Camden-Rockport for the 1999-2000 season but returned to the island for his senior year, has been averaging more than 20 points per game this season (he scored 27 against Mariners Wednesday). Islesboro also gets scoring help from Jon Bolduc. Forwards Elek Miller (6-4) and Andrew Leach (6-2) have been the team’s leading rebounders while senior guard Ryan Grindle provides a defensive spark. Islesboro also has a 6-3 forward in Rory Diffin.

“We’re big and quick,” Shand said. “We’re very aggressive with trapping and going after the ball. we’ll sacrifice a few points in exchange for more steals.”

Shand also has three eighth- graders on his bench, all of whom have played in every game (and sometimes spent an entire fourth quarter on the floor). David Pike, a 5-5 guard, scored 12 points against Searsport.

“The future, the next four, five, six years will be very exciting,” Shand said.