Most seasoned high school hoops observers eagerly anticipated a championship clash between the top two girls basketball teams in the Eastern Maine Class D Tournament last season, but a funny thing happened on the way to the finals.

Although No. 2 seed Lee Academy made it to the championship game, top-seeded Southern Aroostook – their expected opponent – did not. The perennial power from Dyer brook was upset by eighth-seeded Katahdin of Sherman in the quarterfinals and Lee went on to win its first regional girls hoop title.

Both teams are off to hot starts again this season, and although they’re both once again expected to be among the top tourney contenders, the teams’ roads back to Bangor will be different.

The Southern Aroostook Warriors appear to be even better than they were a year ago with improved depth despite the loss of some starters, but with four of five starters gone, the Pandas will have to reload on the fly to make their third straight trip to the EM title game.

Still, the Pandas do have something every other coach is envious of: a senior forward with guard skills who oozes athleticism: Shelby Pickering.

“Going in, we have a proven commodity as far as Shelby, but she’s the only starter back so the expectations are a bit lower … but we’re still defending champions,” said first-year Lee girls coach Ron Weatherbee, a veteran boys coach. “Hopefully, we’ll have someone else who will step up and score to help alleviate some of the pressure on her.”

Lee was counting on having two starters return, but guard Michaela Ham opted to take her senior year off and concentrate on her studies and a job. So stepping into the breach are junior guards Ashley Jandreau and Jacqueline Moors and junior forward (and twin sister) Marci Moors, all of whom logged significant minutes off the bench last season. The other member of the starting five is junior guard Kerri Harris. Freshman guard-forward Karin Bird could push for a starting spot as well.

Other key players are freshman guards Aarika Ritchie, Amanda Gifford, and Brooke Harris, sophomore guard Jodi Worcester, and freshman forward Dana Houghton.

The Pandas aren’t big as the starting five averages just under 5 feet-71/2 in height, but Weatherbee is optimistic over his team’s depth and potential – albeit young and somewhat unproven – talent.

“Defensively, our weakness is inexperience with so many young players,” Weatherbee said. “But we’ll be looking to put a lot of defensive pressure on people and going fairly deep into the bench.”

Offensively, the Pandas will preach patience with. Perimeter shooting looks like a strength, which should help them against bigger teams trying to slow the tempo and play more halfcourt ball.

Southern Aroostook’s Warriors will also be looking to play an uptempo game as they count among their strengths increased depth, more maturity and experience, and maybe even more talent – and that’s despite the fact three returning starters were lost early in the season.

“We were supposed to have four back, but it didn’t quite work out that way,” said ninth-year head coach Jon Porter.

Sophomore forward Shana Martin moved away, senior guard Mackenzie Hardy is out at least five weeks after having her appendix removed, and senior guard Mindy Watson missed the team’s first two games due to academic ineligibility, but Watson scored 15 in her debut and the “new kids” are playing alright.

“We’ve had some kids step up and fill in the gaps we’ve had, so we might be a little deeper than I thought,” Porter said.

Kids like sophomore guard Kaylea Collier, whose last name is synonymous with Warriors girls basketball after older sisters Jessica and Kim enjoyed plenty of success, and sophomore forward Kristinn Watson, (Mindy’s cousin) who have slid into starting roles along with veterans like junior guards Amanda Clark and Carmen McLaughlin, and junior forward Audrey Charette.

Senior forward Jessica Ryan is one of the first players off the bench, but certainly not the only one as the Warriors use a 10-player rotation.

Throw in the fact that the Warriors are dedicated to erasing last year’s disappointing finish and you have a more-than-capable squad.

“They couldn’t talk about it for awhile, but now they’re starting,” Porter said. “This summer some girls put some extra time in. They’re hungry and motivated.”

But they’re not the only ones. Porter and Weatherbee have their eyes on legitimate challengers such as Ashland and Fort Fairfield plus teams featuring good size such as Shead of Eastport, Katahdin, and Hodgdon.

Oh, in case you’re wondering… The Warriors have already gained a measure of revenge after beating Katahdin 60-40 in their first meeting since the tournament.