Was there a Class C girls basketball team that had more preseason buzz than the Dexter Tigers?

Sure, Calais was the defending Class C state champion, but with almost everyone back on the team, there wasn’t much mystery surrounding the Blue Devils.

As for Penquis of Milo, the Patriots had their key players back and were sure to have another fine season (and sure enough, they did). Madawaska, Stearns of Millinocket, Narraguagus of Harrington – all had most of their top players returning.

Dexter, though, was a different story. And that story was Ashley Ames, the 6-foot-3 freshman everybody knew about but nobody had seen in person. After all, 6-3 girls who are rumored to be athletic and mobile and smart are pretty rare.

Ames and the rest of the Tigers, including 6-1 Ashley Foster and sisters Brittany and Kristy Veazie, lived up to the hype. They beat Penquis twice and lost once to Searsport while racking up a 17-1 record and the second seed in the Class C Southeastern standings.

Here’s more buzz: no matter what Dexter did in this year, Calais is still a favorite repeat as the EM champion.

All the Blue Devils did this season was go 17-1 and run through every team they played (their one loss was to Woodland, their biggest rival and the Class D defending state champ).

Calais has one of the tougher Class C schedules around and has beaten them all – a good Class B Houlton team twice, Class D favorites Lee and Woodland, DAC rival Narraguagus, and Madawaska, the top Class C team in Aroostook County.

Some were shocked that Calais dropped its final game of the season to the Dragons (not to take anything away from Woodland, one coach said recently, but Calais is just unbeatable).

But remember what happened last season – the Devils lost a midseason matchup against Mattanawcook of Lincoln, finished at 17-1, and won the state crown.

Calais had won 33 games in a row since their loss to Mattanawcook. The loss to Woodland exposed some of Calais’ weaknesses: the Devils will have to toughen up their zone defense, box out (rebounding is a constant challenge for the height-deficient Devils; 5-7 guard-forward Lanna Martin has been the team’s leading rebounder for the past three years.)

“We needed that,” he said of the loss. “Woodland did us a favor, just like Lincoln did us a favor last year. We had kind of a weak schedule and we needed to see a good team. … Our zone really stunk. We need to do a better job on the weak side of the zone, especially with the skip passes, and do a better job boxing out.”

Starters include sisters Lanna and Crystal Martin, Katie Frost, Nanci Feck.

It’s one of the most experienced lineups around, as Lanna Martin and Frost are four-year starters, Feck is a three-year starter, and Crystal Martin is a two-year starter.

Lanna Martin is one of the most well-rounded players in the state, averaging 17.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 6.5 steals per game. Frost’s numbers are also impressive: 18.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 4.8 steals per game. Feck averages 13.2 ppg.

“Their experience counts for a lot,” McShane said of Lanna Martin and Frost. “Lanna, she’ll give you whatever you need, the shot, the rebound, the steal, the foul. Katie, we look to her more for scoring but she’s good at passing back to open players.”

Freshman Danielle O’Brien will likely grab the other starting spot for the postseason. Senior guard Katie Welch has also started for McShane this year.

McShane will have a bit more of a bench this year (he used just six players in the state championship game last year). This season, he has experienced senior forward Morgan Drew (11.8 ppg, 5.4 apg) on the bench, as well as Welch.

Dexter, the No. 2 team in the Southeastern standings, is on a 12-game win streak.

The Tigers have had good guard play for the last few years. The arrival of Ames and Foster’s hard work last summer just completed the package.

Ames, who is around 6-3 (she says she’s 6-3, coach Margaret Veazie said she may be closer to 6-4), has put up sparkling numbers in her freshman season: 15.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 5.7 blocks per game.

Foster, a 6-foot junior forward, is averaging 11.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Her improvement has meant that teams have trouble double-teaming Ames, because Foster can pick up the offense.

“I just feel Ashley Foster working at her game made all the difference,” Veazie said. “She took something like 100 shots a day.”

Sisters Kristy Veazie, a senior, and Brittany Veazie, a sophomore, (Margaret Veazie’s daughters) start at the guard positions along with 5-8 senior Karen Nelson. Brittany plays the point (4 apg, 3 spg), and Kristy, at all of 5-4, is the team’s third-leading rebounder.

Dexter got in two tough scrimmages in the weeks after the regular season ended: Class D Lee and perennial Western Maine champion Dirigo of Dixfield (the Cougars won that, but the teams played neck-and-neck).

Penquis and Madawaska were just 1.13 points apart in the Northeastern standings.

The No. 1-seeded Patriots, 16-2, lost twice to Dexter. Megan Russell, a four-year starter who seems unstoppable at times, leads the team with 19.6 points per game. She was an Eastern Maine Class C all-tourney pick last year.

Much like Calais, Penquis has succeeded without height (5-9 April Allen, a four-year starter, is a guard), although 5-9 Jean Hamlin has been a solid post player this year. The Patriots’ tourney run last year ended against Mattanawcook, which had strong inside game. Both Allen and senior guard Lindsay Hamlin have the potential to carry the offense along with Russell.

The Patriots closed the regular season with a six-game win streak.

No. 2 Madawaska finished with a 12-6 record, but losses to Calais, Houlton (the second seed in Class B Northeast) and a split with Van Buren (ranked second in Class D Northeast) didn’t hurt the Owls’ seeding too much.

Madawaska won seven of its first eight games of the season. Top players include Meghan Marshall (14.8 ppg, 15 rpg), Kristine Cyr (14.3 ppg) and Kay Gerard (9.9 ppg).