Woodland girls basketball coach Arnie Clark is ready to lead the Dragons back to the Bangor Auditorium and possibly a return to the top of the Eastern Maine Class D ranks this winter after his team struggled to a 10-7 record last winter.

Woodland, which was ousted by Katahdin of Stacyville in the preliminary round, will certainly be among a slew of teams which could emerge as the region’s top team come tourney time in February.

“We’ve got most of our kids back. We’re in pretty good shape,” said Clark, whose team will have a formidable backcourt led by senior Rachel Torrey, in addition to 6-foot senior center Courtney Cochran anchoring the front line.

That inside-out combination, along with 5-6 junior forward Julia Nicholas, 5-8 sophomore guard Ariel Knights, 5-5 sophomore guard Ashley Laking and freshmen Molly White and Kelsey Gabriel, will make the Dragons a tough out come tournament time.

“I think the team to beat is going to be Woodland,” said Ashland coach Bill Nemer.

The Dragons will be tough offensively with the inside play of Cochran coupled with Torrey and Knights’ abilities to hit outside shots.

“I think Knights is a good shooter, and Rachel Torrey is a good outside shooter,” Clark said.

He added that a lot of teams will attempt to play zone and eliminate the inside presence of Cochran, but the Dragons’ halfcourt offense should allow shooters such as Knights and Torrey to generate open shots if Cocrhan draws double teams underneath.

“That’s usually what we are, a half-court team. A lot of people play 2-3 zones against us,” said Clark.

Woodland will have arguably one of the tougher schedules in Class D.

The Dragons have two matchups with Class C power Washington Academy of East Machias, along with other Class C entries Narraguagus of Harrington, Calais and Lee Academy.

That, Clark said, will be a key factor in how well the Dragons play come tournament time.

“Oh, no question, it’s good for the kids to play tough competition,” Clark said.

“[Some] go to Bangor with a good win-loss record but haven’t played good competition, and they just don’t close it out at the end. It’s happened to good ball teams.”

Nemer’s Hornets will be one of the tougher teams in Aroostook County, with a solid center in 5-10 senior Mindy Chasse and her cousin, 5-8 classmate Whitney Flint, playing the point.

Chasse enters her senior campaign 150 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 for her career.

The one problem, Nemer says, is that Ashland won’t have a deep bench, therefore they must avoid foul trouble.

“We’re not going to be real deep. I think every team in Class D can say that,” said Nemer.

In addition to Chasse and Flint, the Hornets will feature a solid two-guard in junior Suzanne Poulin, junior small forward Crystal Cook and first-year starter sophomore Taylor Baker.

The quickness and solid shooting of Flint could give opposing defenses headaches, in particular when they have to contend with Chasse in the paint.

“Whitney Flint is a good three-point shooter, and she drives to the basket,” Nemer said.

Ashland will generally pack into a zone defense against taller opponents, such as Central Aroostook of Mars Hill’s Sarah Long and Rachel Palmer of Washburn, both of whom stand more than 6 feet tall.

“That will give us a good chance at rebounding with the bigger teams,” said Nemer.

Backcourt pressure and generating fast-break points against such opponents will also be pivotal to a Hornets team which won’t have a lot of speed.

“The key way to beat them is to press,” Nemer said. “Even though we’re not real fast, we do it so we can get transition buckets.”

The aforementioned Long leads a tall Central Aroostook team which graduated only one senior.

Long, Kayla Day, and Alex Dame, all seniors, will be tough to defend up front, in particular the 6-1 Long.

Classmates Amber Bradley and Robin Graham will anchor the backcourt for the Panthers.

“Central Aroostook virtually has their whole starting team back and they’re big,” said Nemer. “Washburn will certainly be one of the upper echelon teams.”

The Beavers will also be tough in the post with the 6-3 Palmer, a junior, while 5-9 senior forward Kelsee McLaughlin could play a pivotal role up front.

A sleeper team could be Katahdin, which Nemer says is very quick and “gives a lot of teams fits.”

The Cougars will have to replace five graduates, including guard Ronni Robinson, but have some solid height in 5-10 senior Jasmine Cyr and 5-7 classmate Kayla Stevens.