Central Maine Community College is the No. 1 seed in the upcoming USCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championships in Uniontown, Pa. One very big reason for that is Oak Hill graduate Maggie Sabine.

In the last two Yankee Conference tournament games, Sabine averaged 22.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. She was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“She kind of put us on her back at times, and made sure that everyone knew we were going to win the Yankee Conference championship,” CMCC coach Andrew Morong said.

CMCC plays Penn State Fayette at 6 p.m., Thursday. Penn State Fayette is the host school and No. 8 seed, out of eight teams in the bracket.

“They play a lot of pressure defense,” Morong said. “They’re guard-oriented. I think they have four girls who shoot over 36 percent for 3-pointers. They’re extremely competitive. Even though we’re the No. 1 seed and they’re the 8 seed, it’s not a traditional 1-8 matchup.”

“I think we just need to play the game we’ve been playing all year,” Sabine said. “I think we have a really good shot this year.”

Sabine said her older sister Emily went to CMCC, which helped spark her interest in the school.

“I’m very happy with my decision to come here,” she said. “We’re taken care of here. It’s a really laid-back atmosphere, and it’s a really welcome atmosphere.”

Sabine is averaging 16.0 points and a team-high 11.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. She’s shooting 48 percent from the floor and 77 percent from the free throw line.

“Whether she wants to admit it or not, she’s been a great leader for us this season,” Morong said. “She doesn’t like the title of captain, she’s not a captain, but she’s certainly done everything on the court to be a great leader.”

The Mustangs are 22-4 and have won 18 of their last 20 games. With Susie French (19.5 ppg) and Danielle McCusker (13.5 ppg) also in the lineup, they’re not short on scoring options.

“If I had to explain (our success) in one word, it would be teamwork,” Sabine said. “This team is one of the best teams I’ve ever been on, because of the way we pass the ball and play together.”

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The College of St. Scholastica women’s hockey team won its first-ever playoff game this weekend. St. Scholastica’s goalie is Belgrade native Teraysa White, who is having a superb season for the Saints.

White has played 94 percent of her team’s minutes in goal, and is 14-9-3 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against-average. White’s four shutouts tied the school’s single-season mark and her 687 saves set a new record.

In two games Friday and Saturday against Lake Forest College, White had 66 saves and allowed one goal in 120 minutes. Entering this weekend, Lake Forest had scored 83 goals in 24 games, an average of 3.5 per game.

St. Scholastica, located in Duluth, Minn. is now 14-9-4 overall and is in the semifinals of the O’Brien Cup. The Saints play St. Norbert College at 3:05 p.m., Friday at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

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A handful of local players have already started their baseball and softball seasons. Skowhegan graduate Whitney Jones opened the Seton Hall season Feb. 8 by starting at first base and going 2 for 3 with a solo home run in a 12-5 win over St. Bonaventure. A day later, Jones walked to start a four-run rally as Seton Hall defeated Robert Morris, 5-3.

Samantha Gray, another Skowhegan graduate, has started six games for the University of Massachusetts. Anna Lorette, also a Skowhegan graduate, has started all four games this season as a freshman first baseman at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and has two hits and two walks.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com