Jordan Grant of Gray New-Gloucester lays up a shot against Jaycee Cole, left, and Hailee Perkins of Spruce Mountain in Jay earlier this season. Sun Journal photo
Somehow, an Edward Little defender ended up on Julia Colby’s back. Literally.
It nearly knocked Colby down, but the Oxford Hills freshman maintained her dribble, regained her balance and darted down the lane for a layup, the two most spectacular points of her team-high 17 in last week’s win over the Red Eddies.
“She kept her dribble, sliding, and then drove and laid it in,” Vikings coach Nate Pelletier said. “I mean, she does some things that you don’t see seniors doing.”
Perhaps the only substitute for experience is talent. At least that what several tri-county area girls’ basketball teams are hoping as the regional playoffs begin today.
Colby is one of many freshmen who will be playing in postseason for the first time after playing an integral role for their teams during the regular season.
The playoffs are a different experience for the inexperienced.
“It’s a little bit nerve-wracking because there’s a lot more pressure … and just all the people, and a big court,” Oxford Hills junior Maighread Laliberte said.
But, in regard to Colby, Lalibrte said: “I think she’ll do well.”
Gray-New Gloucester senior Alicia Dumont has similar thoughts on the increased pressure of the postseason — she even used some of the same words as Laliberte — but also has a similar confidence in her freshman teammate, Jordan Grant.
“For a freshman, it’s new, it’s exciting, it’s nerve-wracking,” Dumont said last week, “but she’s a great player, she’s very confident, and she’ll put her best effort forward.”
Colby and Grant are jumping right into the postseason deep end — their teams both enter the playoffs as No. 1 seeds, the Vikings in Class AA North and the Patriots in B South, so expectations are high.
The Intern
When the Patriots tip off the postseason against either Freeport or Lisbon next week, Grant will most likely be on the sideline. The young post player is usually the first player off the bench for Gray-New Gloucester, part of a rotation that mainly consists of her, super sophomore Bri Jordan and four seniors — Dumont, Skye Conley, Grace Kariotis and Izzy DeTroy.
Being eased into the action might be beneficial to Grant. Patriots coach Mike Andreasen points out that the four seniors have advanced farther each year they’ve been in the postseason, including reaching the Class B state championship game last year. Each step up is a new challenge.
“We always have trouble with the new experience,” Andreasen said. “Last year, we did fine in the (Southern) Maines, we got to the state game and we really looked like, kind of a deer-in-the-headlight look. Now we’ve been to that game. But Jordan, she hasn’t done any of that. So, for Jordan, we’ve just got to bring her along slowly. Anything Jordan gives us really is gravy.”
Grant has played well during some big moments this season. Against Greely, the best team in A South, she entered the game and scored 11 points in the second quarter to help Gray-NG take a one-point lead into halftime. She also scored five straight Patriots points in the game-turning second quarter of last Friday’s win over Poland.
“She’s going to be a real good one,” Andreasen said. “This year, we have the luxury that she’s kind of almost interning, because she’s able to be an understudy to some of the other kids.
“You want to have those younger kids be ready, because, with our seniors, we lose a pretty special group of kids, so next year, Jordan will be with Bri as returning varsity players.”
The Day One
Like Grant, Colby is surrounded by talented veteran players. But Colby has been a standout for the Vikings from the first game of the season, when the point guard tied for the team-high with 12 points in a win over Lewiston.
The season has been full of big moments since. For example, the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Deering in Oxford Hills’ closest game of the year.
Vikings coach Nate Pelletier says that Colby is no ordinary freshman, and he doesn’t think she’ll be fazed by the postseason.
“Normally, I’d say it’s going to be tough on her, but she plays a lot of basketball and has been in a lot of different situations,” Pelletier said. “I mean, last year, she went to a national tournament and was in the national championship game in the summer, so she’s been in a lot of big games, so I’m not worried about it at all.
“And she’s the type of kid that’s so even-keeled, she doesn’t get very high, she doesn’t get very low … And I love it. It’s great to have a kid with the ball in her hands that’s not going to get too excited and not going to get too down on herself.”
Colby and Grant are only two of the several freshman playing big roles on good teams this season. Here are some of the others.
Giana Russo, Lisbon
Like Colby, Russo has stood out since the first game of the season, in which she scored 22 points in the Greyhounds’ win over Hall-Dale.
Russo, a point guard, finished the regular season second on the team in scoring with a 9.4 points per game average. She also averaged 4.6 assists and led the Mountain Valley Conference with 4.8 steals per game.
Chantelle Ouellette, Edward Little
Ouellette is a crafty scorer who comes off the bench for the Red Eddies. In her first rivalry experience against Lewiston, she scored a game-high 14 points.
Hannah Chaput and Maddy Foster, Lewiston
Both have been contributors for the Blue Devils. They’re complementary pieces to Lewiston’s veterans, but are indicators of a what should be a bright future for the program.
Souza, Wilson-Falcone and Schmelzer, Winthrop
Kena Souza, Aaliyah Wilson-Falcone and Jillian Schmelzer have played starring roles for the upstart Ramblers this season.
Souza led Winthrop in scoring at 8.9 points per game.
Lauren Eastlack, Rangeley
In truth, this isn’t Eastlack’s first postseason. She played last year as an eighth-grader last year for the Lakers’ Class D state championship team. But, as a starter, her role will be much larger in the coming weeks than it was in the 2016 playoffs.
Audrey Fletcher, Monmouth
One of several players who see extended action off the Mustangs’ deep bench. Fletcher is always locked-in on defense, and coach Scott Wing said she is one of the team’s top rebounders despite being one of the shortest.
Taylor White, Leavitt
White became increasingly productive in the final month or so of the season for the Hornets, who open the playoffs with a prelim game against Morse in Turner on Wednesday.
There’s more from the Class of 2020
There were several other freshmen who played roles for their teams, and a couple others who nearly led their teams to the playoffs. Among the latter:
- Desirae Dumais started at point guard for Oak Hill and led the team in scoring with 10.6 ppg.
- By the end of the season, Lexi Mittelstadt was Mt. Blue’s defensive stopper and, as coach Fred Conlogue said, its “spark plug” on offense.
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