FARMINGTON – When you’re a 6-foot-3 post player at Mt. Blue High School, you can’t escape the comparison.
Before Christina Mosher even scored her first basket as a freshman for the Cougars, she was already hearing the name Heather Ernest used in the same breath as her own.
Ernest was the school’s all-time leading scorer, and Miss Basketball Award winner who led Mt. Blue to back-to-back state titles. It’s a legacy that Mosher has had to succeed, and Ernest’s name has followed her steadily.
How often does Mosher hear about Ernest?
“Oh yeah, all the time,” said Mosher. “I see her picture every day at lunch.”
Ernest’s portrait and No. 21 jersey hang in the cafeteria at Mt. Blue with all the Cougar greats. Being a post player, who even resembles Ernest to a degree and wears No. 31, it’s a tough act to follow. Mosher is flattered to be compared with Ernest and has been inspired by the former Cougar and University of Maine star. Yet, Mosher isn’t intent on being the next Heather Ernest. She’s more concerned with making a name for herself.
“I don’t feel like I have to live up to anything,” said Mosher, who didn’t get into playing basketball until the fifth grade, after watching Ernest and the Cougars win championships. “It’s more my choices and my goals than anyone else’s.”
Mt. Blue coach Jeannine Paradis says she never mentions Ernest’s name or any players from that era. The previous success is irrelevant to the current Cougars. Any comparisons would be unfair and unneeded stress. She’s more focused on the future than on history.
“You need to be your own player,” said Paradis.
As one of the most promising post players in the state, Mosher may be ready to take her game to another level. She’s shown great promise in two years for the Cougars. She knows how far she’s come and is excited about elevating her game further.
“You can definitely tell the progress all the way through,” said Mosher, who was a gymnast before taking up basketball. “Not just physically, not my game, but mentally and my attitude towards it. I’m helping out others and being a captain this year, I have to be a leader.”
Averaging in double figures, she has already surpassed 500 points and been a perennial all-star. She knows the best is yet to come.
“I was like Those were younger years,'” said Mosher. “What can I do over the next two?”
She’s showing signs of that maturity in preseason. Mosher displays more confidence and poise. She’s making less mistakes and playing more like a veteran than an over-anxious newcomer. Being more in control and avoiding fouls has made Mosher a greater presence. She’s making the right decisions and not forcing things.
“We’ve been working on her mental part of the game,” said Paradis. “I think a lot of teams knew that sometimes if they beat on her a little bit, she would be taken out of the game. We’ve been working on that.”
Paradis says Mosher has focused on making the step-by-step improvements to get better. Though she arrived with lofty expectations in tow, she’s been developed methodically.
“We just kept focusing on what she needs to do to get better,” said Paradis. “Last year, it was bringing the ball down to her waist all the time and turning and dipping before she even squared up to the basket. It was just focusing on those things and working on the mental things.”
Mosher says she sees a difference. She’s more mature and better mentally prepared. It’s allowed her to expand her game and versatility. She enters her junior year determined to show just how good she can be.
“I look at it that I have to show myself but more to prove to myself but not to other people,” said Mosher. “Prove to myself where I want to go and what I want to do.”
The interest from colleges has already begun. Mosher knows she may have a daunting task ahead as a result but is bracing herself.
“I know I want to play basketball, but I’m not sure where yet and what level I’m ready for,” she said. “I know it’s going to be tough. I’ll have to do a lot of decision- making.”
In the meantime, she’s just another ingredient on an up-and-coming Mt. Blue squad that has been creeping up on the elite teams in Eastern A and hoping to bust through soon. The Cougars lost four seniors but return a complimentary cast around Mosher in Bonnie Silkman, Amanda Laney, Sandra Moloney and Meaghan Robinson.
“Most of us have played together since the fifth grade,” said Mosher. “This is our year, hopefully, to go far.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
