This winter, the Lee Academy girls basketball team has been playing with a vengeance.

They have good reason to. The Pandas were bounced out of last year’s Eastern Maine Class D tourney in the quarterfinals, something coach Ron Weatherbee’s players remember vaguely.

“I think that has been in the back of their mind all season,” the coach said of the Pandas’ loss to Greater Houlton Christian Academy last winter.

Thanks to a balanced scoring offense and a pressure defense, Lee has been at or near the top of the Heal point standings all year.

The top two pistons in Weatherbee’s offense have been junior forward Karin Bird (16 points per game) and guard Aarika Ritchie (14 ppg).

The Pandas have also received solid contributions from 5-foot-9 junior forward Dana Houghton and junior guards Amanda Gifford and Brooke Harris.

“Our biggest thing has been that our scoring [has been] more evenly distributed,” Weatherbee said.

Senior Nicole Slevinsky (5-7) and 5-2 junior Nicole Jandreau will be looking to fill the sixth man void left by Lacie McLaughlin, who was lost for the season with a knee injury Jan. 12 against Class C entry Penobscot Valley of Howland.

Along with the Pandas, GHCA is a legitimate favorite. Megan Korhonen has been the offensive catalyst for first-year coach Terry Cummings, while Megan Lajoie and Alexis Gerben have made solid contributions for the Eagles, who finished the regular season 17-1.

Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics and Ashland can’t be counted out, along with Central Aroostook of Mars Hill, which finished the season winning 14 of its last 15 games after starting the year 0-3.

Coach Rod Codrey’s Panthers have been paced by the solid play of forwards Sarah Long, who stands 5-10, and Alex Dame, and first-year starting guard Amber Bradley, a junior.

Long gives CAHS a presence in the middle and can also handle the ball if needed.

“She can bring the ball up just as well [as our guards], and she can handle it pretty good,” Codrey said.

He added that once Bradley got acclimated to the pressure defense that many teams in Aroostook County play, things started to fall into place.

“Amber Bradley was new and wasn’t familiar with the full-court press,” he said. “We worked on it in practice, and after two to three games, it came around.”

Coach Jamie Labreck’s Limestone club will rely on its defense for success.

“Our biggest thing is, if we can hold teams [to] scoring in the 40s and 50s, we’ll be successful,” he said.

The Eagles’ top offensive weapons are forwards Julie Peers and Lauren Redman.

Ashland, which took on the Eagles in Limestone on the season’s final night of play, has been led by junior guard Whitney Flint and senior center Mindy Chasse.

Washburn is spearheaded by the inside play of 6-1 center Rachel Palmer along with guards Morgan Berube and Alex Bird and forward Kelsee McLaughlin.

Defending state champ Woodland and Bangor Christian could be dark-horse picks.