St. Anselm offers scholarship to Sierra Tapley, Class of 2016

Sharp shooting Bar Harbor native picks up Northeast-10 scholarship offer

Maine Firecracker and Mt. Desert Island (MDI) standout Sierra Tapley, Class of 2016, is a very committed and determined person. The 5’7″ guard drives 3 hours each way to practice two times per week along with teammate Kelsey Shaw to be part of the Maine Firecrackers AAU program. Most days the “DownEast Duo” carpool with another talented and committed player, Katie Butler from Bangor. Weekend games are normally a much further commute since the Firecrackers often play in Rhode Island, Massachussetts, New Hampshire and as far away as North Carolina.
Tapley’s hard work and dedication were rewarded this week when she visited St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH and was offered a scholarship by Head Coach and Maine native Julie Plant. Tapley was selected to the Bangor Daily News All State Third Team for her outstanding play this season, when she averaged 16.3 points, 4 assists, and 3.5 steals per game. She and Kelsey Shaw led MDI to an 18-0 regular season finish before being upset by Gardiner in the Class B Eastern Maine Tournament. A crafty guard who can shoot the 3, pull up from mid-range and is also an excellent passer, she was also selected as the Big East Player of year for 2015.

16u Firecracker Coach Brian Clement isn’t surprised by the offer, “Sierra Tapley is a talented player who shows up excited to play every single day at practice and is one of the hardest workers in our program. She is physically and mentally tough and she is pleasure to coach because she plays with so much heart.”

If Tapley accepts the offer from St. Anselm College, she will join teammate Ashley Briggs ’15, a standout guard and one of the original Firecrackers in the backcourt for the Hawks. Head Coach Julie Plant just completed her second season at the helm at St. A’s,  who finished 9-17 in the Northeast 10 League and made the playoffs despite having no seniors and only 2 juniors. Plant is a native of Gorham and played her college basketball at USM, where her Gary Fifield coached team played in the D3 National Championship game in 1998 and 2000. She was inducted into the New England Baskerball Hall of Fame in 2006.