"I think Carrie Hayden is a young lady who can step in and take some of the pressure off of losing an all-star-caliber player in Michelle Holmquist," Bridges said. "She's going to take up some of that role." Katie Martin, a third-year player for Bridges, who's been at CMCC for 13 years, is another key player. "As a third-year player, we really are counting on her to step up and play a bigger role," Bridges said. Martin, formerly of Oxford Hills, and Hayden are just two of a handful of former area high school players charged with returning the Mustangs to the top. Sara martin (Mt. Abram), Teira Durgin (Oxford Hills), Lindsey Henderson (Buckfield) and Christy McAuliffe (Lisbon) are four others. "We have a really strong basketball program and tradition in the area," Durgin said. "We're playing with the same people and against them year 'round, and you get to know them, and that helps to see a lot of them here (at CMCC)."

Despite the departures, the Mustangs are the favorites to win the conference and advance to the USCAA national tournament again. That alone hangs a bit of extra pressure on the squad. "We do only have three new players," Durgin said. "Most of us were around last year, and we know each other and play well together." Hayden, Katie Martin and Tiffany Lougee (Foxcroft Academy) are the tallest women listed on the team's roster at 6 feet even. But what the team lacks in height, Bridges said, it makes up for in speed and shooting. "I'm pleased with the way everything has gone so far," Bridges said. "We do have a prolific three-point shooter in Sara Martin, who was with us the second half of the year last year. She's still hitting threes from eight feet behind that arc. She's going to be one of our go-to people this year." But the roles are not going to be defined, Bridges said, by height. "If you're a big, you still need to be able to handle the ball," Bridges said. 'If you're a big, you still have to guard quicker kids. It helps everyone expand their all-around game." Given his dearth of local talent, and the fact that the squad returns several key role players from a successful 2008-09 squad, Bridges is cautiously optimistic. "I think it's going to kind of mirror how we were last year," Bridges said. "I think we're going to have short-term pain, but we'll have long-term gain, and I think that come playoff time, I think we're going to be a team that nobody wants to play."