PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Heading into the 20th year of what has turned into one of the more successful runs in Aroostook County basketball — and a year after the Wildcats fell just four points shy of a Northern Maine Class B Championship — Presque Isle High School girls basketball coach Jeff Hudson isn’t looking to change his program’s goals anytime soon.
“The goal is to win,” Hudson said. “Why should the expectation be anything less? Our goal, every year, is to make the tournament. Anything can happen once you get to Bangor.”
Perhaps the biggest adjustment for the Wildcats this season will be discovering what life will be like on the court without the graduated Emily Wheaton, a 1,000-point scorer who averaged over 20 points per game last season and who had been a fixture in the Presque Isle backcourt the past three winters.
“We haven’t really had to worry about ball handling the past three seasons,” Hudson said. “Emily did a lot of little things that took pressure off of other people in addition to being our best scorer. We’ve been blessed with so many good players throughout my years here. This may be my most challenging year yet.”
Hudson said his team will have to rely on more of a committee to fill the void left by Wheaton, specifically the combination of senior guard Madison Michaud, junior guard Maggie Castonguay and freshman guard Faith Sjoberg.
Michaud and Castonguay are just two of nine players on the roster that also played on Presque Isle’s Northern Maine Class B championship soccer team. Hudson said the lessons learned from last year’s defeat at the hands of Winslow in the regional final and the momentum taken from the soccer program’s success this fall will both be factors early on this season as his team discovers what their identity will be moving forward.
The Wildcats also will have to make do without two players who were expected to be key contributors this winter. Senior forwards Savannah Rodriguez and Sydney Thompson are both sidelined after tearing their ACLs — Rodriguez during soccer season and Thompson during a preseason tune-up tournament.
Despite the losses, Hudson still has his sights set on Bangor and believes he has the roster it takes to compete in the Big East this season.
“Everyone was comfortable in their roles last year,” Hudson said. “Everyone is now going to have to up their contributions in order to have the sustained success that we’ve had. Everyone will have to do a little bit more.”
At this early stage in the season, Hudson has yet to nail down what his rotation will look like outside of Michaud, Castonguay and Sjoberg, but he says he has a number of players who he believes are ready to contribute.
Senior forward Molly Kingsbury will be expected to do a little bit of everything in her fourth year on varsity, while fellow senior forward Elizabeth Collins and junior center Rebecca Rider will be looked upon to help out on the interior. Senior guard Madison Jandreau, junior forward Libby Moreau and junior guard Alana Legassie are returnees who will take on key roles and a pair of swing players, junior guard Anna Trombley and sophomore forward Rhylee Kinney, round out the roster.
