By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
Both varsity basketball teams from Fort Fairfield and Washburn are playoff bound.
For the girls, Fort Fairfield is the fifth seed, but come in as the defending Class D state champion. Washburn had a stellar regular season, boasting a 16-2 record, and is the No. 1 seed in the division.
The Washburn boys also went 16-2 and are ranked third in EM Class D. Their only two losses were to Central Aroostook, which finished undefeated and No. 1 in the class. Fort Fairfield is seeded seventh and have to beat Southern Aroostook in tonight’s preliminary round game to have the right to play in Bangor. The Tigers were the runner-up in last year’s regional tourney, falling to Schenck of East Millinocket in the finals.
A profile of the four local Class D playoff teams follows:
The Fort Fairfield Lady Tigers won last year’s Class D state title, but had an up and down regular season. In fact, the Tigers had lost three consecutive games before pulling off a 42-35 road win over Central Aroostook Thursday to wrap up its slate.
The Tigers, who are the No. 5 seed, have on their roster a player many consider to be the best frontcourt player in Aroostook County and one of the best in EM Class D in junior Amanda Hotham, who averaged close to 20 points per game despite having to face special defenses throughout the year in attempts to slow her down. She scored the 1,000th point of her career in January and became the first Tiger girls’ player to reach the milestone.
Hotham, last year’s regional tourney MVP in Class D, is paired up with senior center Brooke Beaulieu (10 ppg), while Danielle Tracy (8.2 ppg) and Sydney Churchill (5.6 ppg) are perimeter shooting threats. The point guard position is handled by freshman Logan Bubar.
Fort Fairfield will meet up against Southern Aroostook in the quarterfinals Monday at 2:05 p.m.
The Washburn Lady Beavers are the other local Class D team in the playoff field, who guaranteed its slot in the tourney early on with four consecutive victories to begin the season, which came over CA, Fort Fairfield, Southern Aroostook and Van Buren – all whom qualified for this year’s playoffs. The Beavers parlayed that success and their consistency the rest of the way into a No. 1 ranking.
“That first game, the win over Central Aroostook, got us flying and ready to go,” said senior Rebecca Campbell. “I think that win really set us ahead of everyone else.”
Campbell, another 1,000-point career scorer who averaged 18.8 ppg this season, said it is team play that has spearheaded her Washburn squad to this point.
“We work well together,” Campbell said. “We’ve worked hard on unity, on and off the court. We thrive on being a family.”
Outside of seniors Campbell and Sarah Sjoberg, the starting center, Washburn has a youthful roster. Freshman Carmen Bragg scored 11.6 ppg and gives the team strong defense out front while paired up with sophomore guard Rayah Saucier and freshman Carsyn Koch, who comes off the bench to provide the team a spark on the defensive end.
Freshman Nicole Olsen and senior Meghan Saucier, recently back from a concussion, will help out along with sophomore Olivia Doody, who also returns from injury.
Washburn will play either No. 8 Bangor Christian or No. 9 Jonesport-Beals in a quarterfinal game set to tip off at 3:35 p.m. Monday afternoon.
On the boys’ side, the Washburn Beavers have a terrific one-two backcourt punch on the offensive end in sophomore Mitch Worcester and junior Jordan McLaughlin.
The Beavers love to score, as evidenced by the 12 games in which they netted 70 or more points, and rely heavily on Worcester, who hit at least one three-pointer in all 18 games and averaged 24.5 points, and McLaughlin, a brilliant finisher on the fast break who averaged 19.1 ppg and banged in 30 threes himself over the course of the season.
“We’re more than me and Mitch,” said McLaughlin. “Our first six is solid. We can all score, rebound and play defense.”
Senior Connor Fitzpatrick averaged 8.8 ppg, while junior Chase Chandler is a decent rebounder and Mason Turner a three-point threat when left open. Sophomore guard Nick Bragg gives the team athleticism off the bench.
McLaughlin said Katahdin, who the team plays in Monday’s 9:35 a.m. quarterfinal, will provide tough competition.
“They are a very good sixth seed,” he said. “They like to control the pace of the game and we’ll try not to let them do that.”
The Fort Fairfield Tigers will be a threat out of the seventh seed, thanks in part to Travis Noyes. The senior forward is a statistical machine who, according to coach Todd Alley, averaged 20.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 12 assists and 1.7 steals during the campaign. He leads the Tigers into a home prelim matchup against Southern Aroostook.
“The Warriors are a tough athletic club that can put up points in a hurry,” Alley said. “We need to control the pace of the game and limit turnovers. That, along with limiting their second-chance points and applying good ball pressure will be the keys for us.”
After Noyes, the Tigers are very balanced with five players averaging between 6.7 and 8.5 ppg in starters Dereck Dufour, Jahleel Williams, Brandon Clark and Dylan Caldwell and frontcourt reserve Andrew Lewis, who came on very strong at the end of the season.
Fort Fairfield plays SA Wednesday at 7 p.m.
