As the Tourney approaches,

WRITTEN BY LARRY MAHONEY

The regional high school basketball tournaments are about to get underway with the new classification alignment in place.

The new classification now features classes A, B, C, D and S, which is for schools with fewer than 100 students. That replaces AA, A, B, C and D.

The re-classification in girls basketball has found Class B state champion Caribou now in Class C and Class C state titlist Penobscot Valley High School of Howland in Class D.

And both will be hard-pressed to return to the state game.

Caribou was just 8-7 after its first 15 games and Penobscot Valley lost all three of its regular season games against Class D rival Bangor Christian, which has been benefitting from the addition of transfers Mary and Annie Allen from Central High of Corinth and Reese Starbird from Piscataquis Community High of Guilford.

Here is a breakdown of the five classes and the favorites to capture North regional championships.

Class A: Camden Hills

There are four prime contenders in Class A North and that list includes defending champ Hampden Academy, runnerup Camden Hills of Rockport, Edward Little of Auburn and defending state champion Mt. Ararat of Topsham. Mt. Ararat was in Class A South a year ago and won the state championship. 

But Hampden Academy coach Nick Winchester said Camden Hills is the team to beat.

“They have depth, they’re good defensively, they have an elite guard in Thea Laukka, they have good size and they are relentless,” said Winchester, whose Broncos beat Camden Hills in double overtime in the A North final a year ago.

“They pose more problems than anybody else,” Winchester added.

Junior Laukka was a Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl honorable mention as a sophomore last year and leads Class A North in steals with over five per game and is among the top three scorers, averaging close to 15 points per game.

Senior guards Leah Jones, Maddie Cronkite and Maren Johnson have also been productive scorers and defenders for the Windjammers, and sophomore forward Gabby Martin supplies an inside presence who can score and rebound. Cronkite and Martin were both shooting in the 50-55 percent range from the floor entering the final handful of regular season contests.

Samantha Bragg’s Windjammers generate a lot of easy transition baskets off their swarming full-court press and they usually use at least nine players.         

Mt. Ararat and Camden Hills were KVAC Class A North’s top two defensive teams, respectively, with each allowing fewer than 33 points per contest.

Like Camden Hills, Mt. Ararat is also senior-laden including 6-foot-1 BDN All-Maine second team selection Julianna Allen, guard Jenna Jensen and 5-9 forward Kayleigh Wagg, three of the four Eagles averaging double-digit points along with sophomore 3-point specialist Cali LeClair.

Jensen was averaging over four assists and close to four steals.

Hampden Academy has been paced by 6-foot-4 center Grace LaBree and had five players averaging at least seven points per game in LaBree and Kate Adams (10 ppg), All-Maine honorable mention Aubrey Shaw (7.5), Eve Wiles (7.5) and Naia Studley ( 7 ppg).

LaBree, Shaw and Adams have been the top rebounders at 7.5, 5 and 4, respectively and Wiles averaged 3 assists.

Hampden Academy had surrendered just 33 ppg through 10 games but Winchester said he needs his team to shoot better to complement its defense.

Youthful Edward Little has a top-notch point guard in junior Hope Fontaine and two consistent double-figure scorers in sophomore Elizabeth Galway (14 ppg) and Charlotte Ranger (11 ppg). Galway was also hauling down 9.9 rebounds.

Bangor, with its full-court press and athleticism, could pull off an upset as long as it has last year’s All-Maine honorable mention Avery Clark in the lineup. Clark recently returned for the Rams after missing a handful of games due to injury.

Class B: Gardiner 

The youthful Tigers won 13 of their first 14 games with the only loss coming to Class B South powerhouse Oceanside of Rockland. The Tigers allowed a league-low 31 points per game through 11 contests. 

The Tigers boast one of the state’s most well-rounded guards in sophomore Molly Takatsu (12.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.3 steals, 4 assists). Six-foot-three freshman center Alexa Quintana was averaging almost 10 rebounds per game, junior guard Zoey Sullivan-Brennan was producing 10 ppg and sophomore guard-forward Maddie McMahon was pulling down more than 6 rebounds.

Gardiner swept Lawrence, which is another contender along with Old Town.

Lawrence All-Maine first-teamer Maddie Provost was averaging over 28 points, nearly eight rebounds and three assists. She has hit over 30 3-pointers. Bulldogs senior forward Ashley Shores was averaging nearly 17 points and 9 rebounds to go with three assists.

Old Town veteran guard Taylor Loring and the inside trio of Karina Dumond along with six-footers Emma Ketch and Sophie Morgan have been the catalysts for the Coyotes. Their aggressive and well-refined man-to-man defense had allowed more than 42 points just four times in their first 16 games.

Hermon, Ellsworth, Mount Desert Island and Erskine Academy of South China could also make some noise in the tourney.

Class C: Mattanawcook Academy

The Lynx are the heavy favorites after suffering a heart-breaking 42-37 loss to Penobscot Valley in the C North final a year ago.

Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln won 13 of their first 15 games by at least 25 points with a 55-46 win over Penobscot Valley and a 41-24 victory over Dexter being the only exceptions.

All-Maine second team center/forward Addison Cyr has been having a terrific senior year, averaging close to 25 points, 18 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.6 blocked shots per game and All-Maine honorable mention Megan House was shining by averaging nearly 18 points per game to go with 6.4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4.2 steals and 2.2 blocks.

Both are 1,000-point scorers.

The 6-foot-1 ½ Cyr is complemented inside by 6-foot-1 Chloe De La Cruz. Seasoned point guard Juliana Cloukey and veteran shooting guard Natalie Turner are returning starters who round out an impressive unit.

George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill has been Mattanawcook’s closest pursuer with 13 wins in its first 15 games. But the two losses were to the Lynx, 75-39 and 61-42.

George Stevens features Layla Hutchins (13.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.6 blocks), Aurora Simmons (9.1 rpg, 3 steals) and Halle Clifford (4.6 apg, 2.7 spg).

Foxcroft Academy, led by Nola Mason’s 13.3 ppg and other key contributors like Payson Hall, Addi Day and Maddie Muth, could be a tough matchup during the tournament. 

Class D: Bangor Christian

Cliff Urquhart, who coaches at Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook, said Bangor Christian and Penobscot Valley are in “their own tier” above everybody else in Class D North.

Bangor Christian won its first 16 games, including three victories over PVHS, thanks to transfer sisters Mary and Annie Allen from Central of Corinth and Reese Starbird from Piscataquis Community High School of Guilford. 

The Howlers’ Rylee Moulton, Lila Cummings and Brooklynn Raymond are among a group of PVHS players that have won three state Class D soccer titles and the Class C basketball championship. And that championship-game experience is valuable.

Bangor Christian was upset in the D semifinals by Schenck of East Millinocket a year ago although several of the Bangor Christian players were on the eight-person state championship soccer team this past fall.

Moulton, Raymond and Cummings entered the final few games of the regular season among the top 10 scorers in PVC Class D behind All-Maine honorable mention Mary Allen, who is the leading scorer averaging 22.6 ppg. Moulton was averaging 19.3 points, Raymond was at 13.8 and Cummings was contributing 13.7 ppg.

Cummings was also corralling 10.1 rebounds and a PVC-leading six steals. Moulton was contributing 4.6 steals and 3.7 assists and Raymond had 5.1 assists and 4 steals.

Mary Allen was also averaging 5.6 assists and 5.2 steals and younger sister Annie was chipping in with 13.5 ppg. Rivers Bradford was at 9.6 ppg along with 3.6 apg and 3 spg. Starbird was contributing at 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.

“Penobscot Valley has a really strong team. Central Aroostook has a good team and Machias has a good young team,” said first-year Bangor Christian coach Brock Bradford. “We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”

Defending D North champ Central Aroostook of Mars Hill features reigning Class D North tournament Most Valuable Player Lilly Burtt along with Harleigh Allen while Machias was paced by Aubrey Wood (19 ppg, 5.1 apg) and Loretta Richardson (15.75 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 3.6 spg).

Class S: Wisdom

This looks like a two-team race between Wisdom of St. Agatha and Katahdin of Stacyville, who had combined for a 29-2 record entering the last few games of the season.

Wisdom won the first match-up 36-21.

Ava Lerman has been one of the top regional point guards throughout her career. She can score from anywhere and distribute. She is also a good defender. Lerman is complemented nicely by Peyton Roy, Madi Roy and Emma Soucy.

Katahdin has one of the top freshmen in the region in Polly Cullen who was pacing the Cougars in scoring (12 ppg), rebounding (11), assists (4) and steals (4). Ayanna Lester is also a consistent point-producer.