The Kennebec Journal

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL

March 10

Dufour does it all for Rams

Cony senior tops off career with all-star game appearance

By Gary Hawkins ghawkins@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

If Mackenzie Dufour were a car she'd be a Mini Cooper -- a small body with a powerful motor.

Whether she's playing point guard for the basketball team, sweeper for the soccer team or running sprints in track, the Cony High School senior is in perpetual motion.

"She just went and went and went and she never stopped," Cony basketball coach Karen Sirois said. "Her endurance is incredible."

At 5-foot-2 and 106 pounds, Dufour needs to be a step quicker than her opponents, but she's never shied away from contact either.

"She's a competitor for sure," Cony athletic director Paul Vachon said. "Heart, desire, passion -- she's up there with the best we've had here."

Dufour will complete her high school basketball career this weekend at the Maine McDonald's High School Senior All-Star games at Husson University in Bangor. She'll compete for the A/B East team.

"I'm excited," Dufour said. "It's going to be a lot of fun."

Sirois asked a lot of Dufour this season. In addition to taking care of the ball, she was asked to score as well as defend the opposition's top guard.

Defense has never proven a problem for Dufour. This season, she made the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A southern division all-defensive team. But she's always been a pass-first point guard who rarely shot.

"This year there was a lot more on my shoulders," she said. "I've never been a scorer, I was willing to do that but it was difficult."

Dufour turned in some big games, including a 21-point effort against Hampden, to finish fifth among KVAC A south scorers at 11.8 points a game. She also finished second in free-throw percentage a (.740) and assists (4.0) and was named a first-team all-star.

"She's the best player to coach because she will do anything you want her to do to win," Sirois said. "She just wants what's best for the team all the time."

After playing forward or midfield during her soccer career, Dufour was moved to sweeper this season. Her speed allowed the Rams to work an off-side trap, knowing they had a speedster to take up the slack if they were beaten.

"I've never been a defender," Dufour said. "This year I was the last one back. I just ran, that's what I did."

As a member of the track team, Dufour finished second in the 100- and 400-meter dashes at the KVAC A meet last spring and third in the 200. She's already gearing up for this spring, her 11 varsity sport in 12 seasons at Cony. She played junior varsity basketball as a freshman.

Playing year-round, she said, helps her focus on her studies. It's only in the brief interlude between seasons that she has a hard time motivating herself to do homework. She's been an honor student throughout high school and made the KVAC A all-academic team this winter.

Dufour is leaning heavily toward attending St. Joseph's College in Standish where she's been recruited to play basketball.

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com