DEXTER – The similarities between the 2004 state champion Dexter girls basketball team and the new edition of the Tigers are easy to see.

In 6-foot-4 senior Ashley Ames and her sophomore sister, 6-6 Mallory Ames, Dexter has frontcourt height that is the envy of most college teams, and in junior Sabrina Cote the Tigers have a transitional force that effects the change from defense to offense in rapid fashion.

That trio is a major reason Dexter figures to be one of the favorites to win the Class C gold ball again in 2005, and they led the way as the Tigers opened their season Friday night with an 84-27 victory over Piscataquis of Guilford at Guiski Gymnasium.

Ashley Ames finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots, while Mallory provided the perfect frontcourt complement with 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Cote added 16 points, five assists and four steals, scoring eight points during the third quarter when Dexter outscored the Pirates 26-4 to break the game open.

“The second half was 100 percent better than the first half,” said Ashley Ames, who celebrated her 18th birthday with the win. “We got a little pep talk at halftime and we came out and did what we had to do.”

And while there are obvious similarities, this is not the same Dexter team that went undefeated while winning the school’s first state title in girls basketball last winter.

Jody Grant, a former standout guard for Nokomis of Newport during the mid-1990s who most recently served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, has taken over the coaching reins from Margaret Veazie, who stepped down after last season.

One of Grant’s major challenges is to rebuild the Dexter backcourt vacated by the only two graduates from last year’s squad, Brittany Veazie and Keriann Patterson.

With Cote, junior Nicci Burton and senior Nikki Chapman among those now handling the guard duties, the Tigers generally were able to withstand the Piscataquis fullcourt pressure to set up high-percentage shots at the offensive end – Dexter shot 56 percent from the field.

But early on first-year coach Brian Gaw’s Pirates had some defensive success with their pressure, forcing 11 first-half turnovers by the Tigers as Cote and Burton both endured foul trouble.

“I think the nerves were a bit of a factor early,” said Grant. “I think the kids were too geared up to play defense and pressure the ball and get after things. We were a little overaggressive and we fouled a lot in the first half.”

Yet Dexter’s defense proved omnipresent over 32 minutes, forcing 31 turnovers for the game and limiting the Pirates to just seven second-half points after holding a 44-20 lead at the break. “I thought we came out a little flat but I think it was first-game jitters,” said Cote. “But we got over it and came out and played a really good second half.”

Vanessa Hartford and Meagan Fogarty each added eight points for the Tigers, while Charlie Bradford had four points and six rebounds for PCHS and Heather Woodbury and Briana Shufelt also scored four points apiece.

“There’s a little more pressure for us to do well this year because of where we were last year and how we finished the season,” said Ashley Ames. “So we have to step it up and come out playing hard because we know everyone’s out to have their best game against us to take us down.”

TIGERS 84, PIRATES 27

Piscataquis (0-1) Dexter (1-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Bradford 2 9 0 1 4 M. Ames 8 13 16

Levesque 1 1 0 0 2 Chambers 0 0

Ch. Martell 0 0 3 4 3 Chapman 1 2 4

Woodbury 0 8 4 4 4 Mountain 2 6

Dewey 0 2 2 6 2 N. Burton 3 6

Co. Martell 0 0 0 0 0 Fogarty 3 6 8

K. Martell 1 7 0 0 3 Cote 6 8 16

Shufelt 0 3 4 6 4 L. Burton 1 2

Davis 0 5 2 4 2 Hartford 4 8

Izbicki 0 1 0 0 0 Alton 0 4 0

J. Martell 1 1 0 0 3 Poirier 0 2 0

Clukey 0 1 0 0

A. Ames 7 13 4 18

Totals 5 37 15 25 27 35 62 14 16 84

PCHS 10 20 24 27

Dexter 24 44 70 84

3-pt. goals – PCHS (2-12): K. Martell 1-5, J. Martell 1-1, Davis 0-1, Woodbury 0-2, Bradford 0-3; Dexter: (0-0)

JV: Dexter 49-14

Attendance: 250