McAuley in familiar territory

Even though the McAuley of Portland girls basketball team is back in the Class A state championship game, it’s been a mixed season for the Lions.

McAuley, which beat Cony of Augusta last year for its first gold ball, went 17-0 in the regular season before falling to in-town rival Deering in the final game before the tournament.

Coach Elizabeth Rickett’s Lions have been playing well, but lost starting senior center Gaby Stone, whose recent surgery ended her high school basketball career.

McAuley, which has now won four straight Western Maine titles, heads to the Bangor Auditorium Saturday for the Class A final against Eastern Maine champion Nokomis of Newport. The game starts at 3:05 p.m.

It’s a matchup of the 2001 Class A title game, which the Warriors won 53-43. In fact, many of the same names from both teams are back.

The most well-known name on the McAuley side? That would be senior point guard Sarah Marshall, a Miss Basketball finalist and first-team all-Mainer who is heading to Boston College on a full scholarship next year.

Once again Marshall’s numbers are impressive. She’s averaging 20 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds and four steals per game.

Junior Vanessa Lux and senior Regina Champagne also played in that 2001 state final.

Lux, a 6-2 center, has been scoring 12.1 ppg and averaging 6.5 rpg. She scored 16 in the WM final against Lewiston. The 6-foot Champagne contributes 7.4 ppg and five rpg.

Senior guard Kara Ebrahim also starts, as does 6-foot junior Marisa Berne, a transfer from Falmouth who gained a starting role when Stone’s season ended.

Berne scored 11 in the Western Maine championship game.

Guard Danielle Gagnon and 5-9 forward Tara Beaulieu are McAuley’s top substitutes.

The Lions have plenty of scoring options, from Marshall’s perimeter shooting to Lux inside, but defense has been a driving force for the team, which plays both man-to-man and zone.

“We kind of mix it up on defense but I think defense has helped us win games when the offense isn’t working,” Rickett said.

McAuley hasn’t been as good of a rebounding team as Rickett would like, and the Lions will certainly miss Stone’s 6.5 rpg.

Stone was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, an inflammation of the digestive tract, in November and played her final game of the season Feb. 4. Rickett said Stone will have more surgery in April and hopes to get back in shape in time to attend and play basketball for Division II Southern New Hampshire University.

The Lions and Warriors played a preseason exhibition game, with Nokomis ending up the winner. For Rickett the final score was irrelevant because McAuley had Stone at that point. But the Lions were reminded of two things, she said: defense and Danielle Clark.

“We learned how good she was,” Rickett said of Nokomis’ own Miss Basketball finalist. “… They are a great defensive team. They try to make it difficult for you to get into your game and we have to prevent that.”