MARS HILL, Maine — After undergoing a major transition last season, the Central Aroostook girls appear ready to take the next step in being ready to compete for a championship.
“New” was the operative word during the 2017-18 season. The Panthers welcomed a new coach in Dillon Kingsbury, who coached girls varsity basketball for the first time after stints with the boys programs in Easton and Houlton. Of course with a new coach comes a new system and new philosophies. Also new was the division in which Central Aroostook played last year after moving up to Class C following several years laboring in the ‘D’ ranks.
Even though the Panthers were upset in the preliminary round of the playoffs last winter, despite finishing sixth in the standings, Kingsbury called it a positive start to his coaching career in Mars Hill.
“It takes years to build a program to fully function the way you want it to,” he said. “Fortunately, I have a great group of young ladies who have the patience to undergo a total system and total philosophy makeover.”
Dexter and Calais both welcome back plenty of firepower from last year’s tournament teams and are Kingsbury’s picks, along with Stearns of Millinocket, as being the favorites in Class C heading into the campaign. He also expects Houlton, despite losing Miss Maine Basketball Kolleen Bouchard, to be a sleeper contender. But Kingsbury also thinks his own team has a chance to be near the upper echelon in the division.
“I think we can be competitive and may be able to sneak in a tournament win, if we get the right matchup,” he said, “but our goal is to get a home prelim game and where we go from there is bonus.”
The Panthers have the personnel to be a running team and the team’s depth will allow for frequent substituting and the utilization of several players on the roster.
Ashlee Harris and Annika Nicholas are the two seniors on the squad. Harris, a guard, will be counted on to hit open shots from the outside and be a leader on and off the court. Nicholas plays in the frontcourt and is a starter candidate, depending on the matchup. She is a rebounding and shot-blocking specialist who will need to be a force all season.
Katie Levesque and Breann Bradbury are juniors who will be in the starting lineup. Levesque is a guard who plays pesky defense and will need to be a perimeter shooting threat, while Bradbury is an important offensive weapon who played very well the second half of last year.
Sophomore Maci Beals is another sure starter who will handle nearly all of the point guard duties. Kingsbury said Beals has worked hard on her game and will need to take care of the ball consistently for the team to succeed.
Sydney Garrison, another junior, will join Nicholas in the battle for the fifth starting job. Garrison is the team’s defensive stopper who will draw the opponents’ top offensive weapon.
Junior Kayla Martin and sophomore Libby Grass are both athletic players who will be major cogs in the running game.
The freshmen on the rosters are Liberty Fulton and Maddie Ouellet. Fulton was a solid player at the middle school level and has the potential to be a part of the rotation depending on her development and work ethic in practices. Ouellet is new to the program and this will be a learning year for her.
Jordan Delong is the manager and Krystal Kingsbury, Dillon’s younger sister, is back for her second year as an assistant coach.
“If we can stay healthy, we can be competitive in a very competitive Class C North this winter,” said the head coach.
