UMFK women’s team looks like U.N. of hoops Bengals’ recruiting goes worldwide

BANGOR – Lucas Levesque had to be shaking his head in disbelief as he sat on the bench at Newman Gymnasium prior to Wednesday night’s women’s basketball game between his University of Maine-Fort Kent team and Husson College.

The Bengals’ fifth-year coach arrived in Bangor with a young ballclub that features tremendous geographic and cultural diversity.

UMFK had only 10 players suited up for the game, which Husson won 79-72 – and seven of them were freshmen.

On the other side of the scorers’ table, Eagles coach Kissy Walker had 16 players in uniform, 14 of whom played at Maine high schools.

At UMFK, Levesque has been forced to branch out with his recruiting efforts.

He has five Maine players, including 6-foot-5 junior center Ashley Ames of Dexter, a transfer from Emmanuel College. The Bengals also have four freshmen who hail from Maine: former Lincoln Academy teammates Emily Burnett of Bristol and Tara Waltz of Whitefield, Catherine Melton of Kenduskeag and Amanda Tracey of Buxton.

UMFK has looked far and wide to find other talented players. They include sophomore Arcilla Jeffers and junior Geneice Bassue, both of whom who attended the same high school on the Caribbean Island nation of St. Kitts.

Levesque also has welcomed in freshman guard Shir Fuchs of Herzeliya, Israel, along with first-year guards Alisa Licata and Leah Ribera, who were teammates at Yucca Valley (Calif.) High School. Freshman guard Amber Garrison also hails from California (Oroville).

“We had three great guards for two seasons and kept trying to recruit and trying to recruit kids to go with them, and we couldn’t,” Levesque said.

However, with significant graduation losses last season, UMFK became more attractive to recruits.

“It’s a lot easier to recruit when you tell kids, ‘if you come here, you’re going to have an opportunity to start,’ and that’s where we were able to get the three kids from California and the kid from Israel,” he explained. “They wanted the opportunity to play right away.”

Despite their youth and diversity, the Bengals appear to be coming together nicely. UMFK, which tested Husson severely, owns a 6-8 record and is gearing up for its Sunrise Conference season.

“The biggest thing with us is consistency,” Levesque said. “When things get tight, we freeze a little bit and that’s a sign of a young ballclub.”

UMFK continues Sunrise Conference play Saturday at the College of Saint Joseph in Rutland, Vt., and Sunday at Vermont Tech in Randolph Center.

Sevey transfers to Husson

Former Skowhegan High School standout Bethany Sevey recently transferred to Husson College after starting the school year at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

Sevey, a 5-foot-9 guard, averaged 15.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game last season as a senior for the Indians on her way to BDN All-Maine second-team recognition.

“We’re pretty excited,” Walker said. “The thing that’s nice about her is, she’s about 5-9 or so and is very athletic and she plays guard. She’s got a nice shot.”

Walker said Sevey originally intended to play basketball at USM, but only attended a couple of preseason pickup games before changing her mind.

Sevey, who joined Husson Jan. 11, was in uniform for Wednesday’s game against UMFK. She made her debut Saturday at Thomas College of Waterville.

The sooner Sevey learns Husson’s systems and develops chemistry with her teammates, the sooner she’ll be in the mix.

“She’s definitely not real comfortable yet,” Walker said. “We’re going to look for her to be a big contributor as she gets more comfortable and learns our system.”

pwarner@bangordailynews.net

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