The matchup in the 2004 Class A girls basketball state championship game was Eastern Maine champion Cony of Augusta vs. Western Maine winner Deering of Portland.

It may as well have been a showdown between the Southern Maine Activities Association and the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.

Those two basketball leagues may have had the best collection of talent in the state, and the 28th Bangor Daily News’ All-Maine girls basketball team reflects that.

This year, 10 of the top 15 players in the state either made the SMAA’s first team or the KVAC’s top group. And the Class B portion of the KVAC got in on the All-Maine team, too.

This year’s All-Maine first-team is made up of Westbrook’s Kara Borelli, Maranacook of Readfield’s Toby Martin, Abby Marstaller of Greely in Cumberland Center, Katie Rollins of Cony, and Deering’s Megan Urban.

Dexter’s 6-foot-4 standout, Ashley Ames – height-wise and alphabetically – heads up the second team. She is joined by Whitney Morrow of South Portland, Lee Academy’s Shelby Pickering, Monica Selander of Caribou, and Miss Basketball Erika Stupinski of Mount Ararat of Topsham.

The third team is made up of Portland’s Ashley Brownlee, Stupinski teammate Erin Johnson, Urban teammate Stephanie Ramonas, Central of Corinth’s Jenny Rollins, and McAuley of Portland’s Marisa Berne.

Pickering and Ames are the first All-Maine honorees from their respective schools. The schools represented by the rest of the field have had numerous All-Mainers with the exception of Maranacook. Martin is the first Black Bear player to be named All-Maine since Beth Cobb in 1979.

At least two All-Mainers have family ties: Cony’s Rollins is the daughter of Dave Rollins, who made the All-Maine boys first team in 1972 and 1973; Brownlee is the sister of Morgan Brownlee, a second-teamer in 2000 and third-teamer in 1999.

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

Westbrook’s Borelli, who is headed to Division II Merrimack on a scholarship, had to take over for the Blue Blazes when teammate Regina Wohl was injured. Borelli responded.

“Once Wohl went down … I could double- and triple-team [Borelli],” South Portland coach Mike Giordano said. “For her to get the stats that she got, knowing that she was the focus of every opposing coach, speaks volumes about what she can do.”

Bring on the double- and triple-teams: The Miss Basketball finalist and SMAA first-teamer shot 75.9 percent from the free-throw line. She also added 3.1 assists, led the league in rebounds, and was a tough defender.

“She could cover a ‘3’ man, she could cover a ‘2’ man, she could cover a ‘5,’” Deering coach Mike D’Andrea said. “She’s an outstanding player.”

Marstaller raked in the honors at the end of the season. She was a Miss Basketball finalist and Western Maine Conference first-teamer, the MVP of the Western Maine tournament, and guided the Rangers to a Class B state title. She’s headed to Division III Gordon College.

“In coach Seavey’s system she’s not going to have great stats,” South Portland’s Giordano said. “But when they needed a basket they went to her.”

Marstaller’s post defense is what impressed many coaches. She averaged 2.3 blocks and 3.5 steals per game.

“She’s tough,” said Maranacook coach Mike Packard, who coached against Marstaller in the McDonald’s all-star game. “She is very athletic and she anticipates things very well. She’s a good shot-blocker and help-side defender.”

Martin, Maranacook’s heady point guard, was the KVAC Class B Player of the Year. She might be on the small side, but she had no trouble getting her shot off, and her coach says she’s garnered some Division I attention, too.

“I think she’s one of the best guards in the state,” said Dexter coach Margaret Veazie, whose Tigers faced the Black Bears in a Christmas tournament. “I would think one of the most incredible shooters in the state. She put the ball in the basket from the 3-point line so quickly. She’s the best we saw. No one compares to her shooting.”

Martin shot 75 percent from the free-throw line and almost 40 percent from the floor. She also averaged 4.2 steals and 3.2 assists per game.

“Her quickness is a huge strength for her,” Greely coach Jim Seavey said. “She’s a team player and knows how to distribute the ball. She makes everybody better.”

Cony’s Rollins was a third-team All-Mainer last year. This year, as the junior gained a reputation as the top post player in the state and a Division I prospect, she’s jumped up to the first team. Rollins can get her shot off against almost every kind of post defender.

“She’s big and so forth,” Packard said. “But she catches the ball, she gets it to her chin, takes a look around to see what the situation is, and makes the appropriate play. If you watch her she’s a good scorer, probably a better scorer than people realize.”

Rollins is only a junior, but she picked up plenty of honors this season. She was the KVAC Class A Player of the Year, the Gatorade Maine Player of the Year, and the Eastern Maine tourney MVP in Class A. And she didn’t just score and rebound – Rollins averaged three assists per game and was a 70.5 percent free-throw shooter.

“We tried to get out and aggravate her and she still scored 21 points,” D’Andrea said of the Class A state game. “I was very impressed with her. And she runs the floor well for a big girl.”

Above and beyond winning a state championship, Urban had a stellar senior season, statistically speaking. She led the SMAA in scoring, was third in the league in rebounds, and averaged a league-high 4.8 blocks per game.

“I thought she improved 100 percent from last year,” Portland coach Ed Feeney said. “She played with confidence and she dominated the inside, offense and defense.”

Urban, who will attend Division II Assumption on a basketball scholarship, was a Miss Basketball semifinalist and, of course, made the SMAA first-team.

“She affects you on both ends of the floor,” Giordano said. “She’s tough to defend, obviously because she’s so big, and when she catches it she’s going to finish. Defensively she just changes what you do in the paint and makes it very, very difficult if you’re trying to attack the basket.”

Second team

Dexter’s Ames might be the tallest All-Mainer in years, but she’s turned out to be more than a big girl in the middle.

“She bothers everybody,” said Cony coach Paul Vachon, whose Rams played the Tigers in the Cony Christmas tourney. “Katie [Rollins] had to change her game when we played them. You’ve got to get her up, pump-fake, go under her, things of that sort. Ashley changes everyone’s game.”

Ames certainly did change things inside – she averaged 3.9 blocks per game. The regional tourney MVP and Penobscot Valley Conference first-teamer shot 64 percent from the floor and 73 percent from the free-throw line.

Morrow brings plenty of offense to her South Portland team, and her ability to score combined with her athleticism mean coaches consider her to be one of the top guards in the state.

The first-team all-SMAA player had huge games against some of South Portland’s toughest opponents (30 points vs. McAuley). Morrow also shot 80.3 percent from the line and averaged 2.9 spg and 1.8 bpg. She was second to Urban in SMAA scoring and her 80.3 free-throw percentage was fourth in the conference.

“She’s a true athlete, a complete athlete,” Portland’s Feeney said. “Quick, she can jump over the moon. She can shoot, handle the ball. She does everything for South Portland.”

Lee’s Pickering already has 1,377 points in her three-year career, and that’s going up against much taller opposition.

“Shelby’s got the inside game without the height,” Central coach Diane Rollins said. “… She can make the other team come at her, get them into foul trouble, and get her points at the line.”

Pickering, the EM Class D tourney MVP and a PVC first-teamer, responded to the double teams with a 73.3 free-throw percentage. She also averaged 5.1 apg. Lee doesn’t keep track of steals and field goal percentage, but coach Randy Harris estimates Pickering averaged about four spg and shot about 58 percent.

Selander, Caribou’s quick center, is as athletic as they come. She was named the Class B Big East Conference Player of the Year and led that league in scoring. She also averaged 2.5 steals per game and was a 71 percent free-throw shooter.

“She’s a good player, she really is,” Mike Packard said. “Very athletic, fast, handles the ball well for somebody who plays mostly inside.”

Many consider Stupinski to be the top senior in the state, but a shoulder injury limited her to six games (there was a similar situation in 2000, when Cony star Julie Veilleux, who was headed to Division-I UMaine on a full scholarship, hurt her foot and played in only eight games her senior year).

Still, Stupinski made the KVAC first team and was named Miss Basketball. In her six games she chipped in with eight apg, 5.5 spg and 21-of-23 free-throw shooting.

“She’s a good scorer, but I think her best quality is her passing,” said Earl Anderson, whose Nokomis team faced a Mount Ararat with a healthy Stupinski in the regular season. “I think sometimes she was a little too unselfish. She has an uncanny ability to see the floor and the open player.”

Third team

McAuley’s Berne is another versatile player, a 6-footer who is dangerous from the perimeter. The SMAA first-teamer and McDonald’s senior all-star led the Lions in scoring. She’s heading to Division III national runner-up Bowdoin next year.

Brownlee was a first-team SMAA honoree and McDonald’s senior all-star. The athletic guard could post up, handle the ball, and she was a 3-point threat. Brownlee also contributed three spg and will join Borelli at Merrimack.

Mount Ararat’s Johnson, a McDonald’s senior all-star and KVAC first-teamer, carried the Stupinski-less Eagles and is the school’s career leader in points, rebounds, and blocks. Johnson, who will play at UMaine-Farmington next year, shot 50.1 percent from the field this year.

Many of the girls on the All-Maine team are familiar with Deering’s Ramonas. That’s because many of them have had their worst games while being guarded by her. The first-team all-SMAA player led the conference in assists (4.7 apg) and was the MVP of the WM Class A tourney. She’s considering several schools, including Concordia in Montreal, which has offered her a partial athletic scholarship.

Central’s Rollins was at her best in the EM Class C tourney. Her 26.3 ppg postseason average was the most of any player in Eastern Maine. The gritty all-tourney and PVC first-teamer also averaged 5.3 assists during the regular season and shot a fine 42 percent from 3-point range.