There was a rare occurrence on Monday night during the University of Maine’s women‘s basketball game against Stonehill College on the Skip Chappelle Court in the Memorial Gym.
For a period of time in the second half, there were five Maine natives on the floor.
Veazie’s Emmie Streams, Gardiner’s Lizzy Gruber, Cumberland’s Maddie Fitzpatrick and Windham’s Sarah Talon were playing for UMaine. South Paris’ Ella Pelletier was wearing Stonehill colors.
UMaine head coach Amy Vachon, a former star player for the Black Bears and Cony High School of Augusta, doesn’t think she’s ever had this many Maine natives on the roster at once.
Corinth’s Izzy Allen came on in the fourth quarter to get some playing time for the Black Bears. She played at Central High School.
South Thomaston freshman Bailey Breen is also on the UMaine roster but didn’t get into the game. She played at Oceanside High School in Rockland before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida for her senior year.
UMaine won Monday night’s game 79-53.
“It’s awesome to see Maine basketball and see it progressing,” said Pelletier, the former Oxford Hills star who is a freshman guard at Stonehill. “To see the girls I’ve played with before and played against, and to get to play against them again — it was really fun. It was awesome to see them again.”
Talon and Pelletier were matched up against each other earlier in the game and Streams was guarding Pelletier later in the contest.
Pelletier and Talon, a senior guard, played against each other for one year in high school and former Bangor High point guard Streams squared off against Pelletier for two seasons.
Streams is now a junior.
“It’s pretty cool,” Talon said. “Maine is such a tight-knit community in the basketball world. So to come together on a big stage, a Division I stage, is really cool.”
Pelletier and Fitzpatrick played three years against each other while Fitzpatrick was at Cheverus High School in Portland. Fitzpatrick missed last season at UMaine due to knee surgery.
Oxford Hills, Cheverus, Bangor and Windham were all Class AA schools before this season.
Talon said it’s great to see women’s basketball flourishing.
“It keeps growing and growing and is really good for the state of Maine,” added Talon, who pointed out that this group of players have also competed with and against each other in AAU basketball so they know each other.
“It’s my last year, and to see all these familiar faces on the court with me is really fun,” said Talon, who is in her senior year for the Black Bears.
Talon had a very productive night with nine rebounds, including five offensive rebounds, to go with three assists, three steals, three points and two blocked shots in 25 minutes and 14 seconds.
Junior forward Gruber, a transfer from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, produced 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 19:37; redshirt freshman guard Fitzpatrick had five points, four rebounds, and two assists in 13:29; Streams had two rebounds and an assist and only one turnover in 15:31 and sophomore guard Allen had two assists and a rebound in 6:30.
Pelletier logged 26:23 for the Skyhawks and had eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Talon said she has known Pelletier and her family for a long time.
“Ella’s a great person, a great basketball player. I’m excited to see what she does in her four years,” Talon said.
Through her first four games, Pelletier is averaging nine points, 2.5 rebounds and nearly two steals per game in 24.8 minutes per game.
“She has been doing great,” Stonehill coach Trisha Brown said about Pelletier. “She hit the ground running and has not been playing like a freshman. She had some freshmen moments tonight [with seven turnovers] in Maine in front of the family, but she’s just scratching the surface of how good she is going to be.”
Brown said Pelletier uses her 6-foot size well and can handle the ball.
“She has great versatility and her work ethic is awesome,” Brown added.
Pelletier said it was “awesome” to return to her home state and see her family.
She said coming in as a freshman at Stonehill was “nerve-wracking” at first.
“But the older players take you in and help you with everything,” Pelletier said. “If I have any questions, I just go to them. I wouldn’t be the player I am without them.”
She has been pleased with the way things have gone so far.
“It has been really good,” Pelletier. “The coaches are awesome, the school is awesome. Everyone is amazing.”
