Old foes Calais, Dirigo battle for crown Woodland to play Rangeley in state-championship rematch today

In preparing for the Eastern Maine Class C tournament, Calais girls basketball coach Bob McShane had the father of one of his players join the squad for a few practices.

McShane wanted his Blue Devils to be ready for a possible Eastern Maine final matchup against Dexter, which has two girls over 6-feet tall, including 6-foot-3 Ashley Ames.

As it turns out, a smaller Penquis team made it to the regional final, where Calais topped the Patriots for a berth in the state championships.

But all that work against 6-3 Steve McGinley, the father of freshman Megan McGinley and a former University of New Brunswick player, won’t go to waste. When the Blue Devils step on the Augusta Civic Center floor to face Western Maine champion Dirigo of Dixfield, Calais should be ready for Cougar junior Lyndsay Clark.

Calais will face Dirigo (22-0) for the Class C state title in a 7:05 p.m. game. The Class D girls state championship contest between Eastern Maine champ Woodland and Western Maine winner Rangeley will start at 1:05 p.m.

Clark, a three-year Dirigo starter, has gotten better – and bigger – according to McShane.

“She’s getting up to about 6-2 and has filled out and really gotten stronger, so all the time we spent preparing for Dexter will help us prepare for Lyndsay,” he said.

And McShane’s not just watching tape or traveling to the Western Maine tourney for a one-game scouting visit. The Blue Devils know from personal experience this year, having played the Cougars in a Calais Thanksgiving tournament. McShane also traveled to Penquis of Milo and Dexter to watch Dirigo in post regular-season scrimmages.

The Cougars lost two starters to graduation, standout guard Michele Gagnon and 6-foot forward Natalie Dupill. The only returning starter is 5-8 forward Alyssa Burns.

Other Dirigo starters this year are Nicki Turbide, Sheena Weston and Alexa Kaubrie.

With Gagnon graduated, Clark is Dirigo’s main weapon. That could prove a problem for Calais, which starts a lineup of mostly 5-7 or 5-8 guards and whose tallest player is 5-10 freshman Danielle O’Brien.

The Blue Devils typically have some trouble going against height.

“We know that they’re going to be looking for Lyndsay Clark this year,” Calais senior Lanna Martin said. “We know we’re going to have to rebound, box out. We know what we have to do to win this year.”

There are a few streaks at work in the Class C game. This is the sixth time (second straight) that Calais and Dirigo have met for the state title. Both teams will be seeking their sixth overall state title (the Cougars last won in 2000 and have won three since 1996; the Blue Devils are the defending champs and have earned five since 1993).

And here’s perhaps the most important bit of information: Dirigo has never lost a state game played at the Augusta Civic Center.

Woodland also faces a rematch of last year’s state game.

Junior forward-center Sarah Drosdik returns as one of the Lakers’ top players (Rangeley graduated two starters). Drosdik was the only player to hit double figures in last year’s game (20 points) and again this year the Lakers have relied on her offense and contributions from other players (Drosdik had 18 points and Sarah Schrader put in 15 in last week’s Western Maine final).

Rangeley, which went 21-1 with a loss to Valley of Bingham, certainly has the height to match up with the Dragons, who start three players 5-10 or taller. Drosdik is 5-9, freshman center Krysteen Romero is 6-feet and forward Kelly Grant is 5-8. The other starters are guards Schrader (5-7) and Cassie Frost (5-2).