It’s going to be a full house in the University of Maine women’s basketball locker room next season.

Coach Ann McInerney, who is wrapping up her first year in Orono, on Tuesday announced her 2006 recruiting class.

The Black Bears will have the NCAA maximum 15 players as they welcome six newcomers for 2006-07 while saying goodbye to one veteran.

Guards Abby Greene of Eden Prairie, Minn., Amanda Tewkesbury of Clinton, N.J., and Tiffany Colon of Lawrence, Mass., along with forwards Katia Bratishko of Annandale, Va., and Sandra Vaitkute of Charlottesville, Va., have signed National Letters of Intent to attend UMaine.

Point guard Kristin Baker of Bingham, a star at Valley High School, will join the Bears as a walk-on.

“Collectively, I think the group is made up of really solid, strong, passionate basketball players,” McInerney said. “They all come from winning programs and they’re completely committed and dedicated to getting the job done.”

Meanwhile, sophomore point guard Margaret Elderton has announced her intention to leave the program. Elderton bounced back from surgery to her left knee and ankle during last offseason to average 5.1 points and 2.3 assists in 29 games, including 23 starts.

“She wanted to get a little bit closer to home [Pennsylvania],” McInerney said. “I feel bad because Margaret was only at about 75 percent all year.”

Help is on the way.

Greene is a 5-7 playmaker who helped lead Hopkins High to a 118-8 record in five seasons. She averaged 6.0 points, 6.7 assists and fewer than two turnovers per game.

“She does a nice job of distributing the ball and knows the game very well,” said McInerney, who compared Greene’s playing style to former UMaine star Amy Vachon. “She’s a smart, heady point guard.”

Tewkesbury will provide the Bears with a taller, versatile guard at 5-10. The lefthanded shooter averaged 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.5 steals last season for North Hunterdon High School. The third-team all-state selection scored 1,105 career points.

“She’s a gym rat, a die-hard basketball player,” McInerney said. “She can play on the perimeter and also post up other guards.”

Colon, a 5-9 wing player out of Lawrence High School, was scooped up recently after Elderton’s decision to leave. Colon was a two-time Boston Globe Merrimack Valley All-Star.

“She’s a versatile guard, a rebounding guard, who will add some toughness to our team,” McInerney said.

McInerney also beefed up the frontcourt with two physically imposing players.

The 6-1 Bratishko, a native of Russia, was a basketball and volleyball standout at Flint High School. The first-team, all-state choice’s parents both competed on Russia’s Olympic crew (rowing) squad.

“She’s got some good genes,” McInerney said. “She a tough, physical-type kid.”

At 6-6, Vaitkute will join former Bear Nicole Jay as the tallest player in program history. The Lithuanian-born center was an all-state player at The Miller School, which reached the state semifinals.

“She’ll probably need to adjust to the level of the college game,” McInerney said. “She’s a got a lot of potential and being 6-6 obviously adds a different element for us.”

The 5-6 Baker could compete for time at point guard. She averaged 25 points, five assists, six rebounds and five steals while sparking the Cavaliers to the Western Maine Class D title. Valley’s class valedictorian finished with 1,701 points and 443 assists in her career.

“Her intensity is exactly what we need,” McInerney said. “She has the work ethic and the desire and the passion.”

Dani Hubbard, a transfer point guard from South Carolina state, also will be eligible next January.