Offensive balance.

It’s just one of the reasons the Lee Academy girls basketball team has been so tough to beat this year. Any one the Pandas’ starting five is capable of double-digit scoring efforts – and at times during last week’s Eastern Maine Class C tournament, up to four in any game did just that.

For voters, however, there was a clear choice for Eastern Maine Class C tournament’s 2008 Bangor Daily News Owen O. Osborne Most Valuable Player Award.

It wasn’t unanimous – several of her teammates, as expected, also received MVP votes – but senior guard Aarika Ritchie earned MVP honors for the second year in a row. Ritchie also won it last year when the Pandas were in Class D.

Waterville junior center Morgan Frame won her second straight Class B MVP award, while Woodland senior center Courtney Cochran earned MVP honors in Class D. Senior guard Kari Anna Pelletier of Oxford Hills in South Paris did so for the Class A tournament.

The MVP award was established in 1994 in memory of Osborne, a former BDN sports editor and reporter. The award and all-tourney teams, which are listed below by classification, are selected by a vote of media, tourney officials and representatives of the Maine Principals’ Association.

In Class B, Frame powered the Panthers to their 43rd straight win and second regional title in a row. Her strong inside presence proved to be a tough matchup for the rest of the tournament teams.

Joining Frame on the all-tourney team are teammate Jennifer Nale, Brianna Hanscom and Michelle Paul of Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln, and Morgan Chasse of John Bapst in Bangor.

Frame scored 66 points in three games for a 22-points-per-game average. She also provided strong post defense along with 13.6 rebounds per game and 12-for-15 free-throw shooting in three games.

Nale’s best game came at the right time. She had 13 points in the EM final, hitting two key 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Panthers rallied, and going 5-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. She backed up Frame with 12 ppg.

Senior teammates Hanscom and Paul helped get the Lynx to their first EM Class B final. Each provided a different look.

Hanscom, who averaged nine rebounds a game in addition to her scoring, went 9-for-13 from the free-throw line. She averaged 10.3 ppg. Paul, a deadly 3-point shooter, hit five from behind the arc. She led MA with 11 ppg.

Chasse had some of her best moments in transition, scoring off steals and fast-break plays. She led the Crusaders with 19 points in the quarterfinals and a game-high 20 points in a 42-39 semifinal loss to Mattanawcook.

In Class C, Ritchie’s effort in the Pandas’ 73-49 victory over Houlton for the regional title left an impression. In the course of the week, teammates Karin Bird and Amanda Gifford did, too, and both earned berths on the all-tourney team. Gifford was named Class D all-tourney in 2007 and Bird was honorable mention.

Rounding out the Class C team are Houlton’s Rachel Foster and George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill’s Maddie Park.

In the EM final, Ritchie scored a team-best 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and was 2-for-3 from the line. She also had four steals in the final.

Ritchie and Bird both had 14 points in the semifinals, while Gifford had 13. The three also showed off the team’s balance in the quarterfinals, when Ritchie had 11, Bird scored 22 and Gifford had eight. Gifford was also one of the best defenders in the tournament and helped the Pandas force 18 Houlton turnovers in the EM final.

Houlton 6-foot-2 standout Foster dominated inside play with a double-double in each of her three games. She poured in 23 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the final against Lee en route to 18.6 ppg. She made the all-tourney team in 2006.

Park was a big defensive spark for the Eagles, but also led GSA with 21 ppg.

In Class D, Cochran and teammate Rachel Torrey, a senior guard, powered Woodland to its fourth EM title since 2001. Cochran was a member of the all-tourney team in 2006 and Torrey was honorable mention that year.

Joining them on the all-tourney team are Ashland’s Mindy Chasse and Whitney Flint and Central Aroostook of Mars Hill’s Sarah Long.

Cochran was unstoppable inside. She carried the Dragons with 21.3 ppg, including a huge 33-point, 17-rebound effort in Woodland’s regional win over Ashland. She also averaged 13.3 rpg.

Torrey was, quite simply, a defensive pest. She was key to a Dragon team that forced turnover after turnover, including Ashland’s 21 in the EM final. After Cochran’s scoring, the Dragons were balanced offensively and Torrey averaged 8.6 ppg.

Cousins Chasse and Flint were the key cogs for the Hornets as they got to their second regional title game in four years. Flint was honorable mention last year.

They both had their best statistical games in an overtime quarterfinal win against Greater Houlton Christian Academy in which Flint poured in 35 points and Chasse had 22. They averaged 18.3 and 16 ppg, respectively.

Long, a 5-10 center, dominated post play in her two games. She led all scorers, regardless of classification, with 24.5 ppg and added 13 rpg.

In Class A, Pelletier and Vikings teammate Megan Joyce are both making their all-tourney team debuts, although Pelletier was an honorable mention in 2007. Fifth-seeded Oxford Hills knocked off No. 4 Bangor in the quarterfinals, No. 1 Lawrence of Fairfield in the semifinals and No. 3 Cony of Augusta, which had a four-year winning streak in the finals, for the school’s first regional championship.

Pelletier set a tournament record with 31 made free throws in three games. She scored a team-high 14 points in the semis, including 12 free throws in the fourth quarter en route to a 15.3-ppg average. Joyce, who was coming off a late-season pelvis injury, averaged 14.0 ppg.

Cony of Augusta, the 2007 Class A state champion, has two players on the team this year in Rachael Mack and Shelby Pelkey.

Mack, the only returning Class A all-tourney player from last year, averaged 13.3 ppg and gave the Rams the inside presence they needed. Pelkey, who was honorable mention last year, put in 19.3 ppg.

Morse of Bath’s Jill Henrikson won a quarterfinal for the Shipbuilders when she completed a three-point play with 3.3 seconds left in a tie game. She finished the 49-46 win over Skowhegan with 32 points, and scored 14 in a semifinal loss to Cony.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

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