Valley girls getting their share of limelight

It’s not that the Valley High girls basketball team hasn’t been strong over the past few years – it has. But when you go to school and play basketball in Bingham – a town where the boys basketball team has garnered national attention for its unbeaten streak – you don’t get all that much attention.

This season may be different for the Cavalier girls. The squad has a 12-1 record after Monday’s 60-31 win over Vinalhaven, it was ranked first in last week’s Northwestern Class D Heal Points, and Valley already had a victory over defending Western Maine champion Rangeley earlier this season. As Valley coach Gordon Hartwell says, you get the recognition when you earn it – and the Cavaliers are finding they’ve earned it.

“This year it seems like we’ve been getting more [attention],” said senior guard Breanna Belanger. “The boys keep blowing everybody out but our games have actually been more fun to watch. Everybody’s starting to like watching us and we’re loving the attention. We’ve never really gotten it like [the Valley boys] have.”

The Cavaliers are winning with height. Their shortest starters are 5-foot-7 guards Megan Melcher and Melanie Vicneire, while Jessica Fitzmaurice (5-11), Carolyn Robinson (5-10) and Belanger (5-8) are also in the starting five. Starting center Margo Malloy (15 points, 10 rebounds per game), who checks in at 5-10, has a leg injury. Vicneire has also served as the sixth-man this season.

In addition, Valley has 5-10 Katie Rich on its bench.

“Our size has been the difference this year,” said Hartwell, who is in his fifth season. “We don’t have a real giant but we have great overall height. All five positions are tall and usually we have at least one or two mismatches on the court at any one given time. … We’ve always been a good, solid team and this year we’ve pulled it up a notch.”

Hartwell has his team playing man defense (the Cavaliers’ pressure is especially effective), and his big players have responded well to the fast pace.

“We’ve worked on that a lot over the years,” Belanger said. “We are definitely quicker and faster this year.”

Bangor, Brewer diving strong

Bangor and Brewer may be the only two Class A swimming teams in Eastern Maine, but the two rival schools rule the pool in one way: diving.

According to the most recent list of top Class A scores from across the state, Bangor and Brewer boys hold the top five scores and six of the top 10.

Bangor’s Justin Alley is ranked first with a score of 253.95 and Nick Rodway of Brewer is in second place with a 226.20.

Jason Littlefield of Brewer currently holds third place with a strong 194.25. Bangor divers James Innis (158.10) and Josh Buck (139.75) round out the top five. Ram Scott Ellis is eighth overall.

On the girls’ side, Bangor divers currently hold six of the top 12 scores. Sammy Hartery (204.40) and Kate Wardwell (181.00) are second and third, respectively. Leah Grant (166.00) is third, Chandra Lippitt (163.10) is ranked fourth. Holly Haeberlein and Janel Bonzey are ninth and 12th, respectively.

Indians sport new look

They’ve got a new look but their strength is still the same.

That’s what the Old Town cheerleaders recite, anyway, during the routine the team unveiled at the Big East Conference championships two weeks ago. So far the new look – including new uniforms, a new coach and new focus in their routine – has helped the Indians with the Big East title and Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference title.

Senior Kailee Bradstreet said Old Town has taken a new direction this year under new coach Kate Loveless.

“Stunt-wise, we haven’t done a lot of the pyramid stunts,” Bradstreet said Saturday. “We mostly worked on separate stunts, and now we’re doing a lot of pyramid-partner stunts. It’s a new look of stunting.”

The Indians have made another change: new sneakers.

“We used to have the Asics and now we have the Nikes,” Bradstreet said.

Old Town will be a favorite for the Class B Eastern Maine title, which will be contested Jan. 26th at the Bangor Auditorium. The Indians were second to Houlton last year (the Shiretowners also looked strong at PVCs Saturday).

Jessica Bloch’s High School Report is published each Tuesday. She can be reached at 990-8193 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net