Next fall, five Maine schoolgirl basketball players will head to college with the normal trepidation … and the added pressure of playing at the Division I level.

But as fans of high school basketball know, those five girls are certainly suited for it considering the success they’ve had in high school.

Bracey Barker, who led Mount Desert Island to three straight Class B state titles, will play for Maine. Dirigo of Dixfield’s Lyndsay Clark, whose Cougars won three Class C titles, is headed to Albany.

Danielle Clark of Nokomis High helped the Warriors of Newport to a Class A state crown, and she’s going to New Hampshire. Cony of Augusta’s Ashley Underwood (an EM Class A title) will attend Maine.

McAuley of Portland’s Sarah Marshall (two Class A state titles) is headed to national power Boston College.

Those five girls are all members of the 27th Bangor Daily News’ All-Maine first team.

Barker, Danielle Clark and Marshall are all returning first-teamers. Underwood and Lyndsay Clark were members of last year’s second and third teams, respectively.

This year’s second-teamers also appear to have bright futures. Skowhegan’s Ashley Hilton, Katie Sibley of Boothbay, Kari Simpson of Wells, Cony’s Karen Sirois, and Erika Stupinski of Mount Ararat in Topsham make up the second team.

Same with the third team, which is made up of Abby Lesneski of South Portland, Dirigo’s Alyssa Burns, Michelle Murray of Nokomis, Kara Borelli of Westbrook, and Katie Rollins of Cony.

The All-Maine team honors the state’s top 15 players, regardless of class, position, or region, as selected by the NEWS sports staff with input from coaches, officials and other basketball observers.

First Team

Barker, who was named Maine’s Miss Basketball, is a 6-foot-1 point guard who can rebound, block shots, and play inside, and is quick enough to exploit defenses for transition baskets.

She was the Big East Conference Class B Player of the Year and the EM tourney MVP.

“Her strength is, you don’t know which way to go with her,” said Gray-New Gloucester coach Ken Butler. “You put a smaller person on her and she’s gonna take it inside. Put a bigger person on her, she’ll beat you with her quickness.”

Barker averaged five assists and three steals and almost three blocks per game, and shot 49 percent from the floor and 32 percent from 3-point range.

“She’s always been a decent shooter but her range is improved,” Nokomis coach Earl Anderson said. “Her ability around the basket, getting to the basket off the dribble, has improved.”

Danielle Clark is the first three-time All-Maine first-teamer since Cony’s Amy Vachon (1994-96). She’s been named the Eastern Maine Class A tourney MVP twice, was a Miss Basketball finalist and has been the Big East Conference Class A Player of the Year for the past three years.

“One of the things I love about Danielle is that she wants the basketball,” Skowhegan coach Paul True said. “She just makes big shots, especially in crunch time.”

Clark adjusted her game this year to cope with constant double-teams – she displayed a fine shooting touch from the perimeter – and has become a better ball-handler, opposing coaches said. She averaged almost two assists per game.

“I think Danielle, over her four years, had the most impact of any girl in the senior class,” said MDI coach Burt Barker. “… She’s probably the best 6-foot rebounder in the state. You watch her play a lot and she’ll get offensive rebounds on missed foul shots and it’s like, hey, how did she get that?”

Lyndsay Clark is considered one of the most athletic post players in the state and her offensive play around the basket is unparalleled. She shot 63 percent from the floor this season and had 2.6 steals and 1.5 blocks to go with team highs in points and rebounds.

“She’s an excellent defender and rebounder, athletic for her size,” said Mount Ararat coach Kelly LaFountain. “With her 10-12 footer, she’s got a nice touch inside.”

Aside from her stats, where would Dirigo be without its center? The Cougars have gone undefeated in the regular season since Clark’s freshman year and they’ve won three Class C state and four regional titles. Clark is the all-time leading scorer, boy or girl, at the school.

When Westbrook coach Ben Palubinskas thinks about good point guards, he considers what they do under pressure: shoot or pass. Marshall, a Miss Basketball finalist, two-time Gatorade Maine Player of the Year, and a Southern Maine Activities Association all-star, certainly qualifies.

Marshall shot 47.9 percent from the floor and averaged 5.9 assists per game. Her 5.5 rebounds per game were second on a team with plenty of 6-footers.

“She seems to put herself in that position and she seems to thrive on it,” Palubinskas said.

And she’s almost impossible to defend, coaches say.

“The first time we played them we played man and she beat us off the dribble,” said South Portland coach Mike Giordano. “The second time we played zone and she burned us from outside. She’s tough because if you double-team her she’ll find some way to beat you.”

Underwood also racked up lots of honors this season. She was named to the All-Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Eastern Maine Class A all-tourney teams and was a Miss Maine Basketball finalist.

She’s renowned for her smooth shooting ability and defensive prowess, usually drawing the opposition’s toughest player. Underwood shot 43 percent from 3-point range and 84 percent from the line. She also contributed almost four apg and three spg.

“She’s an excellent defender and she probably doesn’t get enough credit at that end of the floor,” True said. “Offensively she’s a good shooter but she prefers to make her living at the free throw line. She puts the ball on the floor and generates contact.”

Second team

The athletic Hilton was also on the KVAC all-star and all-tourney teams. She’s headed to Division II University of New Haven on a full scholarship. In addition to three assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, coaches were impressed with her on-court leadership.

“She’s the glue that held them together,” LaFountain said. “Once this year, we played a box-and-1 on her. We did a pretty good job on her, but it was her effort at the end [10 points in the fourth quarter] that won it for them.”

Sibley, a Mountain Valley Conference all-star, is headed to the University of Southern Maine. She’s known for her offensive skills and basketball instincts. She shot 56.6 percent from 2-point range and averaged about 3.5 assists per game.

“She has a very, very good feel for the game,” said Dirigo coach Gavin Kane. “We obviously focus extra help on her because of her ability to penetrate. If you sag off her she’ll stick it from the 3-point line, too.”

Simpson, a Western Maine Conference all-star and a third-teamer last year, was more than just a post player for Wells – Simpson averaged five assists and four steals per game along with 21 ppg. She plans to attend UM-Farmington.

“The thing you have to watch with her is she’s in perfect position to pass. When she catches it she’s right there and she’s got good passing skills,” Butler said. “… She also anchors the defensive side on rebounding and shot-blocking.”

Sirois averaged an All-Maine team-high eight assists per game to go with four steals per game. The KVAC first-team all star will also attend UMF. Sirois was a big threat to penetrate and her 3-point range was among the best in the state. She shot 36 percent from the arc.

“I think Karen Sirois’ stats could be sky-high if she wanted them to be, but she chooses to be the point guard,” Burt Barker said. “She can pass, split the defenses, go for steals.”

Mount Ararat’s Stupinski was the KVAC Player of the Year. Her gaudy stats – 7.2 assists and 6.1 steals per game, a 50.3 field-goal percentage and 73 percent from the free-throw line – reveal her strengths.

“One of the better passers I’ve seen come through the league,” True said. “She has great court awareness. It seems like she prefers to have an assist than to score. She makes everybody around her better.”

Third team

It’s hard to settle on one position for the athletic Borelli because she does so much for the Blue Blazes, whether it’s handling the ball, playing on the wing, or going inside. She had 2.8 apg and 1.5 spg.

Burns was an integral part of Dirigo’s recent dynasty. Burns’ numbers were impressive this year – 56 percent shooting, 78 percent from the free throw line, 3.2 assists and 3.6 steals per game – to go with impressive defense. The MVC all-star made the game-winning overtime free throws for this year’s state championship.

Lesneski, another post-sized player who can go outside as well (she made 10 of her 17 3-point attempts this year), was an SMAA first-teamer and is headed to Division II Bryant College. Coaches praised her head and body fakes that keep defenders off-balance.

Murray, a Big East Conference first-team member, shot 45.8 percent (44-for-96) from 3-point range and made 50.9 percent of her 2-point attempts. Plus, Murray is a defensive standout who routinely guards the opposition’s best player.

Rollins was a member of the first-team all-KVAC. Her soft hands and touch around the basket have helped her become one of Maine’s most dominant post players. Rollins’ father Dave was a BDN first-teamer at Cony in 1972 and 1973.

All-Maine Basketball Team

First Team

Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. PPG RPG

G Bracey Barker MDI Sr. 6-1 21.6 10.2

F Danielle Clark Nokomis Sr. 6-0 17.5 9.0

F Lyndsay Clark Dirigo Sr. 6-2 17.8 8.6

G Sarah Marshall McAuley Sr. 5-8 20.0 5.5

G Ashley Underwood Cony Sr. 5-9 20.0 4.5

Second Team

Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. PPG RPG

F Ashley Hilton Skowhegan Sr. 5-11 14.5 9.0

G Katie Sibley Boothbay Sr. 5-5 19.6 4.1

F-C Kari Simpson Wells Sr. 5-11 21.0 13.0

G Karen Sirois Cony Sr. 5-7 13.0 2.0

G Erika Stupinski Mount Ararat Jr. 5-9 19.7 3.0

Third Team

Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. PPG RPG

C Kara Borelli Westbrook Jr. 6-1 15.3 11.0

G-F Alyssa Burns Dirigo Sr. 5-11 15.6 4.0

F Abigail Lesneski South Portland Sr. 6-0 16.3 10.9

G Michelle Murray Nokomis Sr. 5-8 12.0 2.0

F-C Katie Rollins Cony So. 6-2 15.3 8.2

Honorable Mention: Ashley Ames (Dexter), Billi Blanchard (Presque Isle), Sarah Drosdik (Rangeley), Bri Googins (Greely), Shelley Gott (MDI), Indira Gowell (Waynflete), Kaitlyn Leeman (Woodland), Meagan Lever (Lewiston), Katie Lutts (York), Vanessa Lux (McAuley), Crystal Martin (Calais), Toby Martin (Maranacook), Annie McIntosh (Eastgate Christian), Hana Pelletier (Messalonskee), Shelby Pickering (Lee), Jenny Rollins (Central), Emmy Russell (Hampden), Gabrielle Stone (McAuley), Megan Urban (Deering), Lindsey Welch (Nokomis)