Presque Isle Wildcats face a new season in Class B

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In some ways, the Presque Isle girls basketball team will look the same as it did last year. In other ways, it’s completely different.

The Wildcats have moved from Class A to Class B, and the team is still trying to get used to the change.

“It’s a whole new ballgame for us,” coach Jeff Hudson said. “We were saying, when we read the paper we’re used to looking at Bangor, Brewer, Nokomis, and now we’re looking at Foxcroft, Bucksport, teams we know nothing about.”

Hudson’s team will have to learn quickly who’s who in a wide-open Eastern Maine Class B this year. Even MDI, which was supposed to have been rebuilding after a three-year grip on the state championship, has looked strong early, which means there are no clear favorites for February’s tournament.

Even though the Wildcats lost three-year leading scorer and rebounder Billi Blanchard, Hudson feels his team will be as strong.

“It’s going to be tough [without Blanchard] but I expect us to be really competitive,” he said. “I would hope so. We’re little, but we’re wicked scrappy. We don’t get anything inside but if we can make shots, make our [3-pointers], our mid 15-footers, we’ll be OK. If we make shots we’ll be awfully tough to beat.”

Kylan Smith should be the focal point of the offense this year. Smith was primarily a long-range shooter last year but Hudson would like to see her involved more off the dribble. Point guard Tasha Deschene has also picked up her scoring.

Anna Delong, Katie Delong and Melissa Demerchant will also start this year, with Michelle Post playing an important role off the bench.

Presque Isle will also rely on shooter Moriah Morris and is looking for sophomore 6-footer Heather Richards and freshman Angela Norsworthy to get some time.

Transition points and fast-paced offense will be important because of the ‘Cats size disadvantage. PI will also take advantage of its speed on defense with man-to-man defense and plenty of full-court pressure.

Presque Isle’s games against Caribou will take on even more meaning now that the Aroostook County rivals are in the same classification again.

The Vikings have four of last year’s starters back and again feature a solid combination of good guard play and size. Guard Amy Bouchard will help feed the ball to 5-9 Lindsay Burlock and 5-11 Monica Selander, while 5-8 Lauren Harrigan will again be a threat at several different positions. Forwards Rachael Willey and Shelby Cousins also saw lots of playing time last year, and guard Kylee Morrell has moved up from the junior varsity.

Belfast is considered to be one of the top teams in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference this year. Like Caribou, the Lions have the guards to get the ball inside to a group of post players.

Belfast has added a few new faces to go with two returning starters and two key substitutes from last year who will make up this year’s top six.

Sam Ellis, who came off the bench last year, will step in as point guard. Kate Bailey, a 6-1 center, was also a substitute who had a lot of playing time last year. Guard-forwards Katelyn Ross (5-9) and Kaitlin Murphy (5-11) return to the starting lineup, and Jamie Flagg moves up from the junior varsity to take an off-guard slot.

The Lions gained Cassi Gray, a 6-1 center who was a standout at Class D Islesboro. Gray could start on a game-by-game basis.

“We’re going to try to get the ball into the post a lot,” coach Ted Rioux said. “But we do have the guards to get us up the floor and our post players run extremely well.”

Expect to see that same type of play on defense, too.

“We’re going to play a lot of man,” Rioux said. “We’re working on it daily, it’s not quite where we want it yet, but man-to-man defense is our bread-and-butter.”

The Maranacook Black Bears of Readfield lost just one starter, Erica Brennan. The Bears will certainly miss the 6-0 center, but the player who many consider the go-factor, 5-0 point guard Toby Martin, is a junior this season. Martin is the only returning member of last year’s all-tourney team.

Winslow is extremely young, but the Black Raiders are also considered among the favorites.

Unlike recent Winslow squads, coach Jim Poulin’s Raiders have abundant height, are led by 5-10 forward Sarah Roderigue and 6-2 center Stephanie Bossie. There are still a few of those small, quick Winslow guards, however, including 5-2 Brittany Morin and 5-5 Nicole Peters.

Coach Jay Carlsen always seems to have Camden Hills at the top of the Heal Point standings, no matter how many returning players the Windjammers have. This year’s focal point should be 5-7 guard Marianne Croce, who was stellar as a freshman last year. Starters Samantha Wiley and Claire Neville also return.

Rockland, another tournament team last year, lost one non-starter to graduation and returns all-tourney honorable mentions Annie Pennell and Caitlin Hynes. Pennell is a 5-10 senior center, Hynes is a 5-9 sophomore center. Guards Caitlyn Grant, Anna Hurley and Kasey Felt also return. Mandy Dunton and Lindsay Barnes have looked sharp early.

There will be a number of new faces on the floor for MDI this year as the three-time defending state champs graduated four starters and the team’s first player off the bench.

But the Trojans still have reasons to be encouraged. Sharp-shooting returning forward Jessica Norwood struggled with a knee injury that happened during the preseason but should be back early in the regular season, and MDI has had good play early on from juniors Amanda Young and Emma Stanley, and freshman Kelsey Stratton.

Hermon lost two starters from a team that made it to the semifinals of last year’s tournament.

The Hawks, however have added Marissa McLeod, who transferred from Bangor. The 5-9 forward-guard should make Hermon’s lineup one of the tallest around, with 5-10 Shannon Wiggin and 6-0 Malerie Hall among the key returners. Guard Shannon Dobbins is a returning starter.

Ellsworth will have 5-8 guard Laura Archer healthy after an injury-plagued sophomore season. She returns along with 5-11 center Ashley Oleson, guard Monique Boutaugh and forwards Victoria Jones, Sara Briggs and Tess Bickford.