Southern Maine players head Mr. and Miss Basketball picks

BANGOR – The competition for the 2004 Mr. and Miss Basketball honors has a decidedly southern Maine feel.

Completely southern Maine, to be exact – with Corey Tielinen of Oxford Hills of South Paris the northernmost candidate.

Tielinen and the other finalists – three for Mr. Basketball and three for Miss Basketball – were announced Wednesday by Maine Association of Basketball Coaches president Jeff Hart of Camden Hills High in Rockport during a press conference at Husson College.

Also announced were participants in the 24th annual McDonald’s East-West Senior All-Star Games to be played at Husson’s Newman Gymnasium on Saturday, March 20, as well as members of the All-State Academic Teams and regional free-throw shooting champions.

Tielinen, Ralph Mims of Brunswick and Rocco Toppi of Portland are finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award. Kara Borelli of Westbrook, Abby Marsteller of Greely of Cumberland Center and Erika Stupinski of Mount Ararat of Topsham are finalists for Miss Basketball honors.

The Mr. and Miss Basketball awards are presented annually to the top high school senior players in the state. Candidates are nominated by MABC-member coaches, with final selections made by committees made up of members of the media and former coaches.

Mims is the two-time Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A player of the year. The 6-foot-3 guard has averaged 28.6 points, 11 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 4.5 steals and four blocked shots for the 18-1 Dragons.

One of the state’s most heavily recruited players, Mims currently is considering attending Florida State, South Carolina, Providence, Oklahoma and Cincinnati.

Tielinen, a 6-5 forward, has proven himself at home both in the low post and on the perimeter. He led 18-1 Oxford Hills to the top seed in Eastern Maine Class A, averaging 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists per game.

Toppi, a 6-5 forward, became the second-leading boys basketball scorer in Portland High history this winter. He averages 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game for the 18-1 Bulldogs, the second-ranked team in Western A.

Mims, Tielinen and Toppi were chosen from slate of 10 candidates that also included Andy Frost of Brewer, Matt Donar of Erskine Academy of South China, Mark Gaudet of Valley of Bingham, Darren Mastropaolo of Falmouth, Eric Shone of Portland, Mac Simpson of Cheverus of Portland and Brian Wells of Mt. Blue of Farmington.

Stupinski was named a finalist despite playing just six games during her senior season. The 5-10 guard-forward has been sidelined since dislocating her left shoulder during Mount Ararat’s Jan. 2 home game against Lawrence of Fairfield.

In her six games, the Stonehill College-bound Stupinski averaged 18.5 points, 8.2 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Eagles. For her career, she scored 1,033 points.

Borelli, a 6-1 forward, led Westbrook to a 14-6 record and a berth in the Western Maine Class A quarterfinals. She averaged a Southern Maine Activities Association-best 10.4 rebounds per game, and also led her team in scoring (17.4 points per game) and assists (3.1 per game). Borelli will attend Merrimack College on a basketball scholarship.

Marsteller led Greely to a 20-2 record and its first Class B state championship in 20 years. The 6-0 center was named the outstanding player-sportsman of the Western B tournament, averaging 13.6 points and nine rebounds per game while leading the Rangers to their second straight regional title.

Stupinski, Borelli and Marsteller were selected from a list of 10 candidates that also included Kaitlyn Leeman of Woodland, Ashley Brownlee of Portland, Amanda Bryant of Lewiston, Josalee Danieli of Gray-New Gloucester, Vanessa Lux of McAuley of Portland, Dawn Ross of Gray-New Gloucester and Megan Urban of Deering of Portland.

The Mr. and Miss Basketball award winners will be announced at the Maine McDonald’s All-Star Banquet on Friday, March 19, at Husson College.