Katie Rollins remembers, as a youngster, watching Amy Vachon and Cindy Blodgett play for the University of Maine in the NCAA Tournament on TV and wondering what it would be like.

The former Cony High School star lived the experience last season – playing for Harvard in a first-round game against Maryland.

“That was an unbelievable experience,” said Rollins, who tonight returns to Maine as the Crimson take on UMaine in the first round of the Dead River Co. Classic.

“I’m thrilled to be coming back,” Rollins said. “I feel like even though it’s not a Harvard home crowd, it’s kind of my home crowd. I really miss playing in front of people I know.

Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Alfond Arena in Orono.

Quinnipiac and Hofstra meet in the 3:30 p.m. contest.

Rollins is pleased UMaine chose Blodgett as its head coach.

“I think it’s awesome to play against a team that she’s coaching,” said Rollins, who was Miss Maine Basketball in 2005 after leading coach Paul Vachon’s Rams to the state championship.

Despite a relentless recruiting push by former UMaine coach Sharon Versyp, Rollins chose Harvard.

“It was definitely the right decision,” said Rollins, who is a third-year starter in the post for coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “It’s amazing. I thought I would take it for granted a little bit and it would lose its appeal, but sometimes I look down at my practice uniform and see “Harvard” and I can’t believe I’m here.”

The 6-foot-1 junior center is averaging nine points and two rebounds for the Crimson (1-2).

Despite dealing with a torn labrum in her shoulder, which she had surgically repaired before heading to college, and working her way back from a significant preseason ankle sprain, Rollins plays a key role in Harvard’s frontcourt.

“She’s got a great shooting touch around the basket, is real smart and has got great court instincts,” said Delaney-Smith, in her 26th season at Harvard.

“What we’re trying to get Katie to do is almost simplify her game,” she explained. “She spends a lot of energy bumping and pushing. She’s a power player with nice quickness.”

Despite a tall frontcourt that also features 6-3 Liz Tindal and 6-7 Emma Moretzsohn, Harvard has been emphasizing rebounding.

“One of the biggest things I’m working on is rebounding,” said Rollins, who spent the summer in Cambridge training with many other Harvard athletes.

“I’ve tried to improve my conditioning, which is something I think I’ve always been below average in,” she said. “I wanted to increase my endurance and my condition and be better when I’m on the floor.”

Delaney-Smith said she is looking for more consistency from Rollins, who is part of a talented senior class that has continued to develop together.

“She’s a leader on our team and on the campus as well,” Delaney-Smith said.

Harvard has Maine connections

Rollins isn’t the only person in the Harvard women’s program with Maine ties.

Ann McInerney, who was the Black Bears’ head coach the last two seasons before resigning last spring, is the third assistant coach for the Crimson.

“She’s been phenomenal,” Delaney-Smith said of McInerney, who is working with Harvard’s forwards. “She’s a brilliant coach and I feel blessed to have her at Harvard.”

McInerney’s coaching experience makes her presence that much more beneficial.

“It’s a good match. I have a head coach on my staff,” Delaney-Smith added.

The Maine pipeline doesn’t end there.

Westbrook native and former Bentley College star Bri Fecteau is in her fifth season as an assistant on Delaney-Smith’s staff.

Kristan Strout of Bangor has been hired as Harvard’s director of basketball operations after serving last year as the program’s operations intern.

She played basketball and softball at Bangor High, then went on to be a two-year basketball captain after walking on at Division II Stonehill College (Mass.).

Strout graduated in 2004, then served as a graduate assistant and an admissions representative at Husson College in Bangor, where she earned a master’s degree in business. She is now working on a master’s in sports leadership at Northeastern.

“She’s one of the most talented women in the world,” raved Delaney-Smith. “She’s my right arm. She knows what to do before you say it.”