By her own admission, Camden Hills Regional High School of Rockport girls basketball guard Thea Laukka isn’t shooting the ball as well as she would like this season.
But she is certainly doing a bunch of other things well in leading the Windjammers to an 11-2 record in Class A North.
And even though the junior hasn’t been satisfied with her shooting, she is still one of the top three scorers among players at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s Class A North schools as she is averaging over 14 points per game.
She leads the KVAC North schools in steals with over five per game and she is among the top five in assists with over three per game.
“She is one of the best guards in the state and not just in Class A,” said Hampden Academy coach Nick Winchester after Laukka registered 11 points, five rebounds and four steals to help lead the Windjammers to a 44-30 win over his Broncos on Monday.
“She does a lot of different things,” Winchester said. “And you have to exert so much attention to take her away. That creates opportunities for other people.”
Windjammers senior guard Leah Jones said Laukka means a lot to her team.
”She is not only able to score for herself, she makes a lot of opportunities for other players,” Jones said.
And she doesn’t let a missed shot bother her, Jones added.
“She is very next-play oriented. If she misses a shot, she will get back on defense and try again,” Jones said. “She doesn’t let that stuff get in her head.”
The 5-8 Laukka is an exceptional athlete who is also an outstanding soccer and softball player. She has long arms and quick feet — which she exhibits on the defensive side of the ball to generate steals and deflections, and on the offensive side to get open and also get to the glass for shots and rebounds.
“I know if I can’t score, I have to help the team in some other way through steals, rebounds or just energy plays like diving on the floor for a ball,” Laukka said.
A perfect example of that occurred in the fourth quarter of their game with Hampden Academy.
Laukka missed a shot and the long rebound came out to a Bronco player, who began racing down the court.
Laukka sprinted as fast as she could and poked the ball away from the Hampden player and then retrieved it for her fourth steal of the game.
“Those are our energy plays,” Laukka said.
Camden Hills coach Samantha Bragg called Laukka a “great playmaker” and noted how her teammates benefit by getting open shots due to the attention opposing teams dedicate to her.
Laukka was a Bangor Daily News All-State Schoolgirl team honorable mention last season and said she has been working on her “inside moves and my footwork” this season.
She has been happy with her season to date but hopes to continue to get better.
“My shooting has been off. I’ve been working on it and I’m hoping to get it back and be good for the tourney,” said Laukka.
The Windjammers reached the Class A North championship game a year ago by stunning previously unbeaten and top seed Lawrence High of Fairfield, 64-56, in the semifinals.
They lost to Hampden Academy in the title game 59-52 in double overtime.
They have avenged that loss by dealing the Broncos their only two losses this season.
Last year’s win over Lawrence has played a role in this season’s success.
“That gave us a real good boost of confidence,” Jones said. “Outside of ourselves, nobody thought we were going to win and when we pulled it off, it was really nice for us.”
Jones added that the team hadn’t played well in the Augusta Civic Center, where the Class A North tournament was held, up to that point.
“We usually don’t do our best there,” agreed Laukka. “But we really stepped it up.”
Bragg said they don’t talk about the Lawrence win much “but, internally, we know we can play with anyone regardless of our record or their record or where each of us is at.”
Laukka and Jones are the catalysts for the Windjammers, who start four seniors in Jones, Maddie Cronkite, Maren Johnson and Tallulah Marks along with junior Laukka.
But they also have a deep bench that includes juniors Rita Haslam and Hannah Stowe and sophomores Gabriella Martin and Alison Sylvester.
Marks and Laukka are in the top five in the KVAC A North in assists with around 3.5 per game; Cronkite is in the top five in shooting percentage at over 50 percent and Martin is among the leading eight shot blockers with over one per contest.
The Windjammers employ a swarming full-court press that leads to turnovers and easy baskets.
They are one of the stingiest teams in the state, allowing only 34.5 points per game.
One of the keys to their full-court press is their depth.
That was evident in the win over Hampden Academy.
“Our depth is huge for us. We had an opportunity to throw some kids on the floor and cause some havoc, defensively,” Bragg said. “They did their jobs in the minutes they got which gave our other kids some time to rest and then get after it late.”
The team is currently sitting in second place in the Class A North Heal Points standings, just three points behind leader Hampden Academy.
“We still have some work to do late in games when it comes to shot choice, things like that,” Bragg said. “But we’re getting there. We’re getting better every day.”
