PORTLAND — Amy Vachon has talked all season about the family atmosphere that her McAuley High girls’ basketball team evokes. Apparently it’s more than just coachspeak.

In a couple of weeks, when Carolyn and Brian Clement go on a vacation, senior Rebecca Knight will babysit their children, including freshman Allie, the Lions’ starting point guard.

“I stay at their house a lot,” said Knight, McAuley’s leading scorer and a Miss Maine Basketball finalist. “They’ve been like another family to me. Allie became like a sister to me.”

The relationship between Knight, who is heading to the University of Maine to play for Cindy Blodgett, and Allie Clement, the precocious freshman whose aunt is Joanne P. McCallie, the head women’s coach at Duke — is very serious.

“Rebecca has been just amazing with Allie,” said Vachon. “She’s a great mentor and a great friend to her.”

The two started hanging out in the summer, when Clement was playing with the Lions’ summer team (when she wasn’t traveling with one of the two AAU teams she plays for — the Firecrackers based out of Scarborough, coached by her father and Don Briggs, and the Crusaders out of Nashua, N.H.) and simply became close.

“We hung almost every day,” said Knight, who lives in Alfred. “And a lot of the other students asked me why I was hanging out with a freshman. Well, I didn’t look at her as a freshman. We became like family. Her family became like mine. She’s become like one of my sisters. I just want the best for her. So I want to help her any way I can.”

Clement, who is only 14, became the missing piece on the Lions’ Western Class A championship team. Knight and 6-foot-2 junior center Alexa Coulombe were the Lions’ Big Two — offensive stars who also could play hellacious defense. Clement came in as the point guard and clearly made this a three-star team.

“She’s the girl that brought them over the top,” said Deering Coach Mike Murphy. “She’s become that third player that you have to worry about.

“You know, most kids might get a third gear (for speed). Well, she’s got a fourth and fifth gear. The sky’s the limit for her.”

She didn’t start the first 16 games, but Clement finished averaging 12 points and 3.2 assists while hitting 50 percent of her shots.

She played biggest in big situations.

“I just knew this team had a lot of experience,” said Clement. “I just hoped I could come in to contribute to the success I knew they would have.”

In the regular season, she hit a 3-pointer that sent McAuley and Deering into overtime, a game the Lions won.

Then, in the Western Maine final, she hit two 3-pointers in the second half against Deering’s zone, forcing the Rams to go back to man-to-man.

Beyond her talent, she has an incredible basketball IQ and never gets frazzled.

In overtime of the Western Maine final, she was stripped of the ball at midcourt, a play that led to a Deering basket.

“You wouldn’t even know that play happened,” said Vachon. “She came back and just played, and played big, in overtime. I don’t care whatever year you are, you make a big turnover like that in overtime and it’s easy to hang your head. She wasn’t having any of that.”

Instead she later came down and made the pass to Coulombe that led to the go-ahead basket by the Lions.

“She’s brought a lot to this team,” said Coulombe. “She stepped into a very big role.”

It helps to have an athletic and basketball family. Her mother, Carolyn, was a three-sport star at Brunswick High. Her father, Brian, played at Colby for two years.

Then there’s her aunt. McCallie was a Parade All-American at Brunswick, played Division I ball at Northwestern and has become one of the top college coaches in the nation.

“My family has always been supportive of me and helped me with whatever I’ve wanted to do,” said Clement.

“I practice all the time with my dad. He pushes me and helps me to become better. My goal is to play Division I and he’s going to get me to where I want to be.”

She has attended McCallie’s camps at Duke and gets first-hand advice from McCallie.

“I’ve been to her camps a couple of times,” said Clement. “When she sees me she tells me what I have to improve on.”

This summer she plans on attending camps at Virginia and Connecticut, and continuing to play for two AAU teams.

“I sleep and eat when I can, and do homework when I can,” said Clement. “I might try track this spring but I’m not sure if I have the time.”

Knight, Vachon and Coulombe see how hard Clement works, but they also see the goofy side that listens to music (anything that Knight, known as “DJ Ruth” to her teammates, picks), hangs out with her family and loves chipotle steak burritos.

“She’s much more serious on the court,” said Knight.

“We all are. But this team is really goofy when we’re not playing on the court. There’s certainly a different side to us.”

But it’s one that has come together for one goal.

“The best thing about Allie, and this whole team, is that they all bought into the team concept,” said Vachon. “We’re in this to win a state championship.”

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com