Dalphonse makes commitment to Emmanuel College

Point guard from Class of 2015 will play for top GNAC program

The final member of the Firecracker class of 2015 made her college selection yesterday when Olivia Dalphonse chose to study and play at Emmanuel College (Division III) in Boston, MA.  Dalphonse had narrowed her choices to  St. Michael’s (Division II) and Rhode Island College (Division III) before deciding to take her show to Beantown. Dalphonse was a key contributor to McAuley’s State Championships in both 2013 and 2014 after attending Bonny Eagle HS her freshman year. An exceptional ball handler and on-ball defender, Dalphonse was named to the All-SMAA First Team and All-Defensive Team her Senior year while also being recognized by the Bangor Daily News as All-State Honorable Mention, and being selected to play in the McDonalds Senior All-Star game in Bangor. The SMAA conference leader in assists (4.0) her senior year, she also averaged 6.7 points and 3.5 steals per game but she will be remembered as a teammate who was much more about winning than scoring or statistics.

Dalphonse was a four year starter for the Maine Firecrackers team (Coached by Brian Clement) that built on the success of the original (class of ’14) Firecracker team coached by Don Briggs. In their final tournament together in July 2014, the Maine girls won the US Junior Nationals Silver Division 16u Championship in DC. The 5’4” point guard was outstanding at breaking pressure defenses and getting the ball to the Firecracker post players and shooters but she also had a knack for hitting clutch shots when necessary. Due to her work ethic, unselfishness, and humble demeanor, she was very popular with her Firecracker and McAuley teammates.

A member of the Great Northeast Atlantic Conference, Emmanuel finished the 2014-2015 season 19-11 and is Coached by Andrew Yosinoff, who has accumulated 728 career victories in his 38 years at the helm for the Saints. In 2000-2006 Emmanuel went on a 72 game conference streak, the longest in the nation at that time. Last year Coach Yosinoff joined Barbara Stevens as the only women’s college coaches in New England with over 700 wins.

Final College placements for the Firecracker class of 2015 are Ashley Storey -UNH, Mary Butler-Brown University, Ashley Briggs -St. Anselm College, Katie McCrum -Colby College, Victoria Lux -Bentley University, Abby Hamilton –Wheaton College-,  Hannah Graham -Bowdoin College, and Olivia Dalphonse -Emmanuel College.