Nicole Taylor. Kayla Burchill. Mia Rapolla. Rebecca Knight. Abby Hasson. Courtney Anderson.

These are the names most people are familiar with in Western Maine girls’ high school basketball.

These are the names that appear most often in the newspapers, and are at the head of most statistical categories.

But how well do you know Stephanie McDonough of South Portland? Or Emily Campbell and Chelsea Morley of York? Or Aarika Viola of Deering? Or Sadie Dipierro of McAuley? Or Sarah Orr of Traip Academy?

They are among the most important players on their teams, yet their names aren’t mentioned often.

“To be a good team, you have to have kids who are willing to do the things that don’t get put on the front page of newspapers,” said South Portland Coach Mike Giordano. “Stephanie’s like that for us.”

When the seventh-ranked Riots play second-seeded McAuley in the Western Class A quarterfinals Monday, the defense-minded McDonough, who averages 3.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, will be matched with the Lions’ Knight, a future University of Maine player who is averaging 16 points per game.

“How she does,” said Giordano, “will go a long way in determining the outcome.”

Deering’s Viola is very similar. When McAuley beat the top-seeded Rams 47-43, Knight scored 26 points.

When Deering beat the Lions 38-35 a week later, Coach Mike Murphy switched to have Viola cover Knight, who scored only eight points.

“She doesn’t get noticed,” said Murphy of Viola. “She’s not flashy, doesn’t score a lot (only 4.0 points per game), but to me she’s huge for us. She just does all the little things and plays within herself.

“She knows all our defenses, all our out-of-bounds plays, all our offenses — all the things you think should be standard for everyone but isn’t. She’s just a good player, a good teammate who gets it done.”

Amy Vachon, the first-year coach at McAuley, said every team needs the role player.

“You can’t win without them,” she said.

Waynflete Coach Brandon Salway put it another way. He has a couple of stars on his second-ranked Western Class C team in sophomore Martha Veroneau (16.6 points per game) and senior Lydia Stegemann (15.3 points per game).

“But it can’t just be them,” he said.

“Martha and Lydia are going to get their points. But there’s going to be a time in the game when one of the other players will have to step up to score or hit a key foul shot or take a charge.

“It always seems there’s one unsung kid who steps up, especially (in the tournament).”

McAuley has perhaps three of the best players in the state — Knight, junior center Alexa Coulombe and freshman point guard Allie Clement. But players such as Dipierro, Molly Mack and Hannah Cooke play vital roles.

Dipierro is the team’s defensive stopper, frequently guarding the best player on the opposition.

“She doesn’t get any credit for what she does,” said Vachon. “But she should. She does all the dirty work for us. I feel she’s the best defensive player in our league.”

York features the University of Vermont-bound Taylor and the USM-bound Stephanie Gallagher — two of the state’s nine nominations for the McDonald’s All-America team. But, said veteran coach Rick Clark, the Wildcats would be nowhere near as successful as they are — winning 40 consecutive games — without the supporting cast.

In Campbell, a sophomore forward, York has a rebounder who can play defense and stick in a jumper. In Morley, a senior guard, it has a long-range shooter.

“It’s hard to differentiate between what they bring to us,” said Clark. “They both bring an awful lot.”

“The rest of the kids,” said Clark, “know what they have to do. It’s team, team, team, team. That’s just the way it is with them.”

Coaches often talk to their players about the roles on the team, especially early in the year.

“We do it at the beginning of the year and the middle, too,” said Vachon. “Roles often change. We meet as a staff with each kid at the beginning of the year and talk about our expectations and what we see their role being.

“Then we meet again because that role can change depending on what happens during the season.”

Paul Marquis does the same with his players at Traip Academy in Kittery.

His best player is junior guard Selena Lorrey, who is averaging 16.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 3.6 assists.

But much of her success comes from playing with Orr and junior forward Katherine Volpe.

“Teams key on Selena,” said Marquis. “Some of our biggest wins of the season have been triggered by steals by Sarah or big rebounds by Katherine, and the defense of both. Sometimes it’s tough to look in the paper and see the same person as the leading scorer. But those two are as important as anyone else.”

And it’s not just them.

“We’re fortunate the girls have grasped and understood what we want,” said Marquis. “Everyone from 1 to 12, understands how they can best serve the team.”

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com