WINSLOW — On a Winslow High School girls basketball roster full of grinders, not stars, Weslee Littlefield blends in. The junior point guard doesn’t draw a lot of attention to herself on the court. She just goes about the business of playing hard. When you look at all the little things Littlefield does to make the Black Raiders better, they add up to one big thing.
“She’s kind of the unsung hero we’ve had. Great leadership on and off the court, always asking what she can do to get better,” Winslow coach Lindsey Withee said. “If I call out a play, we’re on the same page. With her ball-handling skills, it just makes things at ease when she’s out there.”
Winslow will take on Lake Region for the Class B state title at 7 p.m., Friday at the Cross Center in Bangor. Littlefield’s knack for doing the little things is a big reason why the Black Raiders (17-5) made it through the Northern Maine tournament as the No. 6 seed.
Littlefield said she sees her role as making sure everybody on the court knows theirs. If she makes the passes and pushes the ball up the court, Winslow can be successful, she said.
In the Black Raiders’ 43-39 overtime win over Presque Isle in the Class B North final, Littlefield had five rebounds and a steal to go with three points. Her points came on a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the first half and cut the Wildcats lead to two, 22-20, at the half. With a number of players able to score, the Black Raiders don’t need Littlefield to pace the offense.
When the game went to overtime, Littlefield’s job was to make sure the Black Raiders were in the right defensive sets.
“Making sure everyone’s on the same page. I think that’s mostly my role,” Littlefield said. “I like it. I feel like I’m in control. I know what everyone’s doing. I know what’s going on.”
“She’s been playing very smart basketball recently. What’s a good shot versus a bad shot. She’s really grown into a leader on the court in that way,” Withee said.
Littlefield joined the Black Raiders as a freshman and Withee immediately inserted the newcomer into the starting lineup. Littlefield helped Winslow reach the regional semifinals. The young player wasn’t intimidated by playing at the varsity level, after spending the fall as a member of Winslow’s varsity field hockey team.
“It was exciting. It was awesome, because I got to play with a lot of good players,” Littlefield said.
At 5-foot-6, Littlefield’s strength helps her play bigger than she is. Her parents, Wes and Kendra Littlefield, own Littlefield’s Gym in Oakland, and Weslee has put it to good use. When Winslow faced Oceanside in the regular season, the coaching staff had to decide, who would defend the Mariners’ 6-foot duo of Sara Dorr and Kassidy Robinson? Maybe, they thought, we put Weslee on one of them.
“She excelled. She did a great job. She’s kind of taken on that responsibility of guarding a big… We give her tough assignments defensively,” Withee said. “She’s really stepped up and is doing what it takes for this team. We’re not looking for her to score 20 points a game. We’re looking for four or five assists a game, a couple rebounds, a couple steals. When she scores, that’s an added bonus.”
Along with being one of the team’s leaders, Littlefield is big sister to Bodhi Littlefield, a freshman for the Black Raiders.
“We’re so competitive. We’re always playing one-on-one in the driveway. Field hockey, we’re always going to Colby, always working on our game. Always lifting at the gym,” Weslee Littlefield said. “We always talk about what we did well and what we could’ve done differently.”
Sibling rivalry doesn’t get in the way, Littlefield added.
“It’s easy. You always have each other’s backs. No one is going to mess with us,” Littlefield said.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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