CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou’s girls varsity basketball team hopes to make major gains over last season with most of its young team members returning to play.
The Vikings are looking to improve upon the 9-9 final record for the 2021-2022 Class B North season, which saw Caribou earn the No. 8 seed. The Vikings beat No. 9 Houlton 47-28 in a preliminary playoff, which earned the squad a chance to play in Bangor.
In the quarterfinals, Caribou drew the tough card of taking on No. 1 Old Town, and ultimately fell 68-39.
“We have a group of girls who have set their goals high,” said returning coach Kayla Brown. “This group understands the importance of teamwork and their individual role in the team’s success.”.
This year marks Brown’s sixth season coaching varsity basketball for the Vikings and she hopes the team will be able to play its best game on the road to the Class B tournament in February.
Members of the Caribou girls for 2022-2023 season include returning sophomore players Brianna Levesque, Amelia Godin, Abby Haney, and Joslyn Griffeth.
A mix of newcomers for Caribou is senior Carly Morrow, juniors Phoebe Soloman and Madelyn Morrow, and freshman Liv Adams.
Caribou’s starting line-up is wide open for the 2022-2023 season and will be determined on a game-to-game basis depending on who they match up against.
The big three leaders for the Vikings will be senior Selena Savage, who was fourth in the Big East 2021-2022 season for assists averaging 2.9 per game; sophomore Maddie Deprey averaged 15.1 points during last season and finished second in the Big East, while sophomore Ainsley Caron will be one to look out for on the attack to the rim.
Gabbie Sutherland and Mia Theriault graduated from Caribou High School and Brown said their work and dedication will be greatly missed for the Vikings.
“We are still young and have a lot of room for growth in execution, both offensively and defensively,” Brown said. “We will need to remain confident and consistent throughout the season.”
Caribou’s coach said that Old Town will once again be a strong team when the Vikings face them during the season. Brown believes Ellsworth has the same young talent that will be a good matchup for Caribou, while Hermon has a solid program for the Vikings to square up against.
