Jody Grant considers himself to be an old-school kind of basketball coach.

That’s why he’s hustled all over the state this winter watching his potential competition for the upcoming Eastern Maine Class C tournament.

And it’s also why he’s trying to keep his Dexter girls basketball team from thinking too far ahead.

“The less pressure I add, the better,” he said. “But they’re a pretty cerebral group and they probably understand, yes, that is the expectation to get back to the Eastern Maine championship game and even the biggie.”

That biggie, of course, is the state championship game, which the Tigers won last year.

Even if Dexter is trying not to think about the tournament, most teams are – mainly thinking about who’s going to have to face the Tigers in the Eastern Maine final.

Even Grant knows a return to the regional final isn’t a sure thing, but Dexter will certainly be among a group of contenders from the Penobscot Valley Conference that include Central of Corinth, and Stearns of Millinocket, and Mattanawcook of Lincoln. In the Downeast Athletic Conference, Woodland, Calais and Washington Academy of East Machias have all lived up to expectations.

For the Tigers, it starts with 6-foot-4 senior center Ashley Ames, who is averaging close to 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. She’s been the Eastern Maine Class C tourney MVP for the past two years and was an All-Maine second-teamer.

Sabrina Cote, an athletic guard-forward who is also one of Dexter’s better defenders, adds about 10 ppg, as does 6-6 Mallory Ames, Ashley Ames’ sister. Dexter’s new starting backcourt of Nicci Burton and Nikki Chapman has held up, while Vanessa Hartford and Meagan Fogarty have been consistent well off the bench.

“Except for some bad stretches of quarters, 4-5 minutes here and there, we’re playing pretty well, we really are, especially defensively,” Grant said.

The Tigers have had every type of defense thrown at them in an effort to stop the Ames sisters. Most squads play zones or some version of a junk man-to-man defense like a box-and-1 or triangle-and-2.

Stearns was the lone team to throw different looks at Dexter, Grant said. That’s because coach Mike Portwine feels his Minutemen can run with anybody.

“They’re exactly where I want them to be at this point,” he said. “They can really run the floor, and I haven’t seen a lot of teams that can go that. We get a rebound and three passes later we have a layup.”

Senior guard Trisha MacDonald has been scoring 16.5 ppg, while guard Hilary Arsenault and forward Johnna Michaud each add about 10. Point guard Janessa Nason averaged 5 assists per game. Michaud and Amy Collinsworth have been the top rebounders. Deanna Michaud also provides a lot of athleticism off the bench.

Stearns gave Dexter a bit of a scare late in the season when the Minutemen tried to rally in the second half, but eventually fell to the Tigers 41-36. Still, it was one of Dexter’s closest games this year.

Central has also given Dexter fits over the years. Although the Tigers won both matchups this season, Dexter scored just 43 points against the Devils in a their first meeting this winter.

Central standout Jenny Rollins poured in 30 points against Dexter in last year’s EM final, for which she was named to the all-tourney team and was a third-team All-Mainer.

Rollins is averaging almost 23 ppg and 8 rpg this season. She’s joined in the rotation by athletic 6-0 forward Caitlin Elliott, heady guards Danielle Collins and Traci Underhill, and 6-2 forward Teresa Libby.

The Mattanawcook Lynx have held their own against teams like Stearns, Central and Calais, and own a 55-49 win over Woodland last month.

Junior forward Quinci Sanderson and freshman center Bre Hanscom have been providing most of the offense for MA, with lots of help from senior guards Cami Cousineau and Heather Gulesian, and forward Shannon Pietras.

Calais could go into the tournament as the second seed – a 46-36 win over Woodland late in the season helped boost the Blue Devils – and Calais also has two wins over Washington Academy.

The Devils are a well-rounded scoring team, with all-tourney honorable mention Emily Smith’s 11 ppg leading the way. Tracie Eagan, an all-tourney pick, hasn’t been scoring as much as last year but has contributed in other ways, including her almost 5 apg.

“She hasn’t been shooting a whole lot, but she runs our offense and plays tough defense,” McShane said.

Six-foot senior Danielle O’Brien, who has been played big minutes for Calais since her freshman year, provides a presence under the basket. Five-foot-nine Darcie Gillespie and 6-0 Jessie Brown also start, while forward Lindsey Mingo and guard Ashley Allen have been coming off the bench.

Woodland should have had a rebuilding year after losing point guard Kaitlyn Leeman to graduation. Instead, the Dragons have just four losses despite two freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors in the starting lineup.

Junior forward Michelle Ferry has been Woodland’s most consistent scorer with 12-14 ppg, followed by 5-11 freshman center Courtney Cochran.

Freshman point guard Rachael Torrey and sophomore guard Katie Murphy make for a quick backcourt, with Torrey averaging 4-5 apg. Junior Lacey Gillespie also starts, with guard Jillian Noyes and forward Kayla Kochendorfer coming off the bench.

The Dragons have played beyond expectations, but they’re still making some young mistakes.

“Turnovers have really hurt us,” coach Arnie Clark said. “We’ve gotten the turnovers down to below 15 [per game], but we’ve got to keep from turning the ball over.”

Clark figures Woodland will be the third seed, with a possible matchup against WA at the Auditorium.

The Dragons beat the Raiders twice, but they were both close games.

Washington Academy had a well-rounded squad with Ashley Tilton and Megan Look providing a tough inside presence, while Sara Rushforth and Sara Livingstone solid perimeter players. Forward Mary Mawhinney and guard Kayla Wood are also in the rotation.