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Women's Basketball Announces Recruiting Class for 2006-07 Season
May 9, 2006 ORONO, Maine - University of Maine women's basketball coach Ann McInerney announced on Tuesday an incoming recruiting class of six newcomers for the 2006-07 Black Bear squad. The class is made up of four guards and two forwards, including one player from the state of Maine. The list of signees includes guards Abby Greene (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Amanda Tewkesbury (Clinton, N.J.), Tiffany Colon (Lawrence, Mass.) forwards Katia Bratishko (Annandale, Va.), Sandra Vaitkute (Charlottesville, Va.) and guard Kristin Baker from Bingham, Maine. "We are thrilled to have this group join our program," McInerney said. "All six players have achieved tremendous levels of success in high school and are excited to continue their careers here at the University of Maine. We have a lot of experienced players returning next season so it will be a nice blend of experience and youth." Greene, a 5-7 guard, was a member of her varsity basketball team at Hopkins High School since eighth grade. During her five seasons of varsity action, Greene helped lead Hopkins to a combined 118-8 record and a pair of state championships. She led her team to a 30-2 record this past season, the school's second state title in three seasons and an 18th-place ranking in Sports Illustrated's SI.com National High School Top 25 Poll. She averaged 6.0 points, 6.7 assists and fewer than two turnovers per game while being named a McDonald's All-American nominee. She was a three-time Classic All-Conference pick and was an honorable-mention All-State selection during her senior season. Tewkesbury, a 5-10 guard, averaged 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.5 steals per game for North Hunterdon High School as a senior. The Central NJ Courier-News and Hunterdon Democrat Player of the Year, Tewkesbury led North Hunterdon to the semifinals of the state playoffs this past season. She was a New Jersey Group 4 Third-Team All-State selection, while also earning a spot on the Newark Star-Ledger West Jersey First-Team. She scored 1,105 points for her careeer and was a two-time Hunterdon-Warren Counties MVP. Colon, a 5-9 guard, was a two-time Boston Globe Merrimack Valley All-Star for Lawrence High School. She helped lead her school to back-to-back appearances in the Massachusetts state playoffs. Bratishko, a 6-1 forward, was a multiple letterwinner in both basketball and volleyball at Flint Hill High School. In 2006, Bratishko was named a Virginia Independent Schools Girls Basketball Association (VISGBA) First-Team All-State selection at the Division I level. She led Flint Hill to a runner-up finish in the state tournament and was named to the All-Tournament team for her performance. Bratishko has had success at the AAU level, as she helped lead her squad to an eighth-place finish at the AAU National Championship Tournament last summer. Vaitkute, a 6-6 forward/center, also earned all-state honors in the state of Virginia this past season at The Miller School. She was named to the VISGBA All-State First-Team at the Division III level. Like Bratishko, Vaitkute led Miller to the state tournament, where it advanced to the semifinals. She was named to the All-Tournament team as well. Baker, a 5-6 guard, led Upper Kennebec Valley High School to the 2006 Western Maine Championship as a senior. During her final season at Upper Kennebec Valley, Baker averaged 25 points, five assists, six rebounds and five steals per game. She served as captain of the varsity basketball team during her junior and senior seasons, while scoring 1,701 points and dishing out 443 assists for her career. Baker was named the Morning Sentinel Player of the Year, and will be the Valedictorian of her class during commencement ceremonies this spring.
The six newcomers will join eight returnees from the 2005-06 Black Bear team that played its best basketball at the end of the season. Maine closed out the season strong by defeating eventual America East tournament finals participant Boston University, and knocking off Albany in the first round of the conference tournament. The returnees for the 2006-07 Maine team combined for 70 percent of the scoring, 60 percent of the rebounding and 66 percent of the assists from last season's totals.
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