She played in 87 of 88 possible high school games. Earned two state titles in three attempts and collected two individual Eastern Maine tourney records to boot.

And Holli Tapley, Calais’ senior guard, is the only Bangor Daily News’ All-Maine Schoolgirl Basketball First Team member to have a Division I basketball scholarship.

Tapley headlines the 21st annual First Team, which includes Miss Basketball Kim Condon of Presque Isle, Karyn McMullin of Messalonskee, Old Orchard’s Jen Larouche, and Westbrook’s Morgan McEwen.

Mount Desert Island senior guard Erin Shaw led the Trojans to their first state title and heads up the Second Team with Miss Basketball finalist Amanda Kimball of Kennebunk. Forwards Andrea Pardilla of Old Town, Christy Grover of Bucksport, and Stacey Gelinas of Biddeford make up a tough frontcourt.

Seniors hold a narrow majority over the other classes on the Third Team. Guards Carolyn Brown of Edward Little and Kelly Dow of Foxcroft Academy and Kennebunk forward Rebecca Donovan headline the squad, which includes Cony freshman center Julie Veilleux and Wisdom junior guard Tracy Guerrette.

Eleven seniors barely gave the other classes a crack at the 1996 squads, but the few who made it, Condon, Tapley, Larouche, and Grover, return to the 1997 teams.

The NEWS All-Maine teams honor the state’s top 15 players, regardless of class, position, or region, as selected by the NEWS sports staff with input from coaches, officials, and other veteran observers.

First Team

Named the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s Class A Player of the Year, the 5-foot-8 McMullin led the Eagles to their first winning season since 1991 and first-ever Eastern Maine Class A semifinal game. And her first All-Maine team of any rank.

“She’s one of those between-er type kids. She’s too big for a guard to guard her, but she’s too quick for a forward,” Lawrence of Fairfield coach Bruce Cooper said of the state free throw champ who will attend the University of Maine on a softball scholarship. “It’s her athleticism. She’s just that type of player who is so tough to match up with.”

Condon, a 5-11 senior guard-forward, earned the Miss Basketball title with smart play and tenacity.

“Our goal was to keep Kim Condon out of the paint, either on second shots or on the pass to the corner and cut-through, and get a hand in her face on the 3-point shot,” Old Town coach Garry Spencer said. “Her first step is devastating, and on second shots, if you don’t get a hip on her, she’ll get the rebound.”

Following in dad Steve’s footsteps, Kim makes the leap from Third Team to the First Team 27 years after her father did the same.

Condon saved her most determined performances for the month of March: 41 points in the state final to break Cindy Blodgett’s state Class A mark, unanimous selection as Eastern Maine Class A tourney MVP, 18 points on a badly sprained ankle, and the lifesaving semifinal 3-pointer with two seconds left in regulation to force the game into overtime.

Tapley, a Miss Basketball finalist, and her squads rarely needed late game-winning heroics. Tapley broke two Eastern Maine Class C individual records and grabbed her second Class C Tournament MVP award this winter in a unanimous vote.

Known best for her NBA-distance 3-pointers, the 5-8 Fairfield (Conn.) University-signed guard also dished out 6.1 assists and made 5.4 steals a game and shot 51 percent from the field for the Blue Devils.

“She likes to pass. She’s unselfish that way,” Calais coach Bob McShane said. “She wants to get everyone involved. She does play tremendously. Every practice is like her last practice; every game is like her last game.”

McEwen, a 5-6 junior guard, displayed her long-bomb talents during the Blue Blazes’ Western Maine semifinal loss to Portland as she knocked down nine to set the 3-point Western Maine Class A tourney record.

“Portland somehow got a three-point lead, and McEwen had been knocked to the floor six or seven times, and you could see she was wearing down,” Lewiston coach Mike McGraw recalled of the game’s last minutes. “To tie the game up, she steps out to the NBA 3-point line. It’s an adrenaline rush to see.”

Battling back from a knee operation which kept her out of early season practices, McEwen wound up leading the Southern Maine Athletic Association in scoring with 18.5 points while wrapping up 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 steals a game.

A powerful 6-0 junior guard, Larouche is one of three All-Mainers to hold a double-double average with 27 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and 4.5 steals.

“Larouche is ridiculous,” said Scarborough coach Mike Murphy, who was a 1978 All-Maine pick himself. “Everyone is talking about her. She scored 38 against us out of their 48 [points].”

“She’s just got it all,” Biddeford coach Bill Harriman said. “She’s got size. Inside-outside game. Three-point game. She’s a very dominant player.”

Second Team

The Trojans’ 5-4 senior point guard, Shaw captured fans’ attention with daring drives to the hoop and nifty passes to open teammates in tough spots on the floor to earn the Class B tourney MVP honor.

“She definitely is a floor leader and much more dangerous with the ball,” Bucksport coach Mike Archer said. “She knows how to get herself open, and she’s quick off the dribble. I don’t think people realize that she gets off the floor pretty good for a small girl.”

Kimball, a 5-8 senior guard and Miss Basketball finalist, had a breakout year in Kennebunk’s new up-tempo offense.

“She’s a pretty solid defender and a decent rebounder, but her strength is she has a tremendous pop-up jumper,” York coach Rick Clark said. “She has one of the best jump shots I’ve seen this year.”

Playing in one of the toughest frontcourts in Eastern Maine, Pardilla’s game took off this season with improved ballhandling and intensity.

“Pardilla is one of the strongest physical players in the state,” Cony coach Paul Vachon said. “When she gets the ball in the scoring area, she’ll score. Our game plan is not to let her catch the ball.”

The reward for accolades is intense defensive pressure, Bucksport’s Grover learned. The 6-2 sophomore center still managed to put up 15.4 points and 10.8 rebounds a game to go with 2.7 blocks.

“Christy put a lot of pressure on herself after all the accolades she got as a freshman,” Bucksport’s Archer said. “She felt she had to do certain things and people forgot she’s still a 16-year-old.”

Listed as a 5-6 junior guard on Biddeford’s roster, Gelinas did her best work in the post position and shot 49 percent from the field while still dishing out four assists and grabbing 3.1 steals a game.

“Biddeford didn’t have a very big team, but try to play them man, [coach Harriman] would try to see how your defender was on the perimeter, and would post Gelinas inside,” McGraw said. “She has a tendency to get in foul trouble, but she plays better with four fouls. She’s a smart kid, very talented player. Give her too much room and she’ll burn you.”

Third team

A four-year Edward Little of Auburn starter, Brown faced double-teams and rotating defenders in an attempt to slow the prolific scorer down.

“I think she could have scored a lot more points than she did,” EL coach Cheryl Rich said of the 5-10 guard. “Even though her assists aren’t that high, she’s a great passer.”

Donovan, a tough 6-1 center, is one of three athletes 6-0 and taller who will be freshmen vying for playing time at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

“Rebecca is a physical type of player who likes contact,” said Crusaders coach Bill Gibbons, who will lose one starting post player and two more off the bench to graduation this spring. “Even if she doesn’t get the rebound, it opens things up for her teammates.”

Foxcroft made it to the Bangor Auditorium once in Dow’s four years, but Eastern Maine B League coaches made her the league’s MVP this year.

“She’s a rare combination of power, grace, and speed,” Foxcroft coach Ashley Jackins said of his power forward who will try to walk on at UMaine. “She’s not a big player at 5-7, but she plays like she’s 5-11. She’s as quick as any forward in the league and a really strong kid.”

Wisdom’s Guerrette, a 5-8 junior point guard, impressed observers with great ballhandling skills and court sense and dished out 6.8 assists a game.

“She was the glue that kept us together,” Pioneers coach Mim Gagnon said. “She’s our top rebounder, top scorer, and she can play center as well as forward. We wouldn’t have gone half as far without her.”

A cousin of Marcie and Meaghan Lane, Cony’s guards who took up 1988-90 All-Maine First Team spots, Veilleux headlined a class of impressive Class A freshmen who played with confidence beyond their years.

“She knows where the basket is and she puts herself in a great position to score with a drop step,” Spencer said of Cony’s 6-0 center. “She gets the ball and her back is to the basket, and she’ll take that turnaround jump shot, and sometimes it takes a kid a while to develop that.”

1997 All-Maine Schoolgirl Basketball Team

FIRST TEAM

Name School Yr Pos. Ht. PPG RPG

Kim Condon Presque Isle Sr. G/F 5-11 20.3 7.7

Jen Larouche Old Orchard Jr. G 6-0 27.0 12.0

Morgan McEwen Westbrook Jr. G 5-6 19.8 6.2

Karyn McMullin Messalonskee Sr. F 5-8 20.5 9.2

Holli Tapley Calais Sr. G 5-8 19.0 9.3

SECOND TEAM

Name School Yr Pos. Ht. PPG RPG

Stacey Gelinas Biddeford Jr. G 5-6 15.2 6.0

Christy Grover Bucksport Soph F 6-2 15.4 10.8

Amanda Kimball Kennebunk Sr. G 5-8 16.3 4.9

Andrea Pardilla Old Town Jr. F 6-0 13.0 10.0

Erin Shaw Mt. Desert Island Sr. G 5-4 10.2 2.2

THIRD TEAM

Name School Yr Pos. Ht. PPG RPG

Carolyn Brown Edward Little Sr. G 5-10 18.1 3.6

Rebecca Donovan Kennebunk Sr. C 6-1 10.0 9.1

Kelly Dow Foxcroft Sr. F 5-7 18.5 7.0

Tracy Guerrette Wisdom Jr. G 5-8 20.2 7.8

Julie Veilleux Cony Fr. C 6-0 15.0 9.2

HONORABLE MENTION: Jamie Arnold, Soph., Portland; Lea Bennett, Jr., Windham; Tricia Carver, Fr., Jonesport-Beals; Hanna Dawson, Sr., South Portland; Beth Dekoning, Sr. Scarborough; Niki Dominiczak, Jr., Dirigo; Susan Gardner, Jr., Orono; Jody Kenniston, Jr., Old Town; Suzanne Picard, Sr., Thornton Acad.; Michele Plant, Sr., Gorham; JanellProctor, Sr., Traip; Kristi Royer, Soph., Lewiston; Kerri Russell, Sr., Penquis; Janna Walker, Sr., Southern Aroostook