HODGDON, Maine — After getting a taste of what playoff basketball is like, the Hodgdon girls basketball team is hungry for another helping.
Last year, the Hawks finished with a 9-9 regular season record, which earned the squad the No. 13 seed in Class C North. The Hawks drew the tough task of facing No. 4 Stearns of Millinocket in a preliminary playoff, a game that Hodgdon lost 65-36.
Wendell Harvey returns for his third season as the Hawks head coach and has a solid mixture of returning veterans and talented newcomers on the roster this season.
“We are looking forward to the upcoming season,” coach Harvey said. “We return three starters from last year’s team and have some players back from injuries that will help fill in for the loss of five seniors.”
Those five seniors were Sydney Howell, Janelle Goff, Megan Russell, Katheryn Rediker and Addie Woods. Howell and Goff were key members of the Hawks roster, earning All-Aroostook honors.
Members of the 2018-19 Hawk girls roster are senior Kora Lambert; juniors Lauren McGillicuddy, Autumn Ganzel and Katherine Berube; sophomores Emma Drew, Allie Winship, Sabra Scott and Kylee Mooers; and freshmen Monique Polchies and Kaelyn Lawlor.
The starting five to begin the season will be Drew, Scott, Lambert, Mooers and Ganzel, the coach said.
Drew, the team’s point guard, and Scott were both starters last season as freshmen. Despite their young age, the two will be called upon to fill big roles with the team this year. Lambert, the team’s leading rebounder, is the lone senior and will provide key veteran leadership for the Hawks.
Mooers, a 6-foot, 1-inch sophomore, will serve as the team’s center and should be an imposing presence in the low post. Ganzel, a forward, is a third-year player who was also the Hawk’s goalie on the soccer field. She saw limited playing time last season, but will have a much larger role this season, Harvey said.
“I would say our defense would be our biggest strength,” coach Harvey said. “We will need to improve our outside shooting and our passing. We worked hard this summer on both and hope it will pay off for us as the season goes along.”
According to Harvey, Fort Fairfield and Houlton will be among the Hawks tougher foes in Class C this season. Hodgdon will also square off against some tough Class D opponents in Southern Aroostook and Katahdin.
Assisting Harvey is Graydon Drake. The managers are Catherine Smallwood and Mikyla Howland.
