CLICK HERE to read original article, written by Times Record Staff Writer Eric Maxim

At the start of the 2011/12 high school basketball season, Brunswick girls coach Sam Farrell knew he had a special player in freshman Julia Champagne.

At a time when the Dragons struggled for victories, Champagne was setting an example for the young athletes to come.

"When Julia was a freshman, we were not winning many games," said Farrell. "It took two struggling seasons by Julia to instill a new culture here. She set the example for older and younger players in how to work hard and how to be a winner."

The 2015 BHS graduate recently concluded her junior season at St. Joseph's College, where the Monks had a record-breaking season that included a 27-game win streak and a berth in the NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament. Following the program's first NCAA postseason win, the Monks lost in the second round to the eventual national champion Amherst, 53-47 to end their season at 28-2.

Champagne had a breakout season this past year, averaging 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 48.6-percent (126-of-259) from the field, 39.5-percent (45-of-114) from beyond the arc, and 80.6-percent (83-of- 103) from the charity stripe. Champagne ranked second on the team in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, free throws made (83), assists (70) and steals (45) during her junior campaign and heads into her senior season with 713 points and 424 rebounds in 88 career contests.

All of this garnered her plenty of postseason accolades. The Maine Women's Basketball Coaches Association postseason awards named her to the Second Team All-State team, while the physical education major also earned the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as being selected to the All-GNAC Third Team.

"This wasn't a surprise to us," said St. Joes's coach Mike McDevitt, who was named MWBCA 2018 Coach of the Year. "The coaching staff already knew what she was capable of, and I think her peers and the rest of the league began to recognize her abilities. They started seeing that she's usually covering the other team's best player each game."

Champagne was also named to the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference all-defensive team both her junior and senior seasons at BHS.

"From the first day I saw her play hoops, she excelled on the defensive end," said Farrell. "For us, she always covered the other teams' best player. From point guards to 6-foot-2 centers, she covered them all.

"I was very excited to see she was chosen as her conference's Defensive Player of the Year, but I wasn't surprised," added her high school coach. "Watching her in high school and at St. Joe's, she was most often the best and most committed defender. It takes total commitment and sacrifice to your team to be a great defender, that's Julia."

High expectations

Like most successful players coming out of high school, Champagne had high expectations of herself.

"My first year, I came here wanting to be that player that passed it around, make plays for my teammates," said Champagne. "My teammates and coaches at St. Joe's gave me that confidence to do what I was capable of doing."

From her modest time (15.4 minutes per game) on the court her freshman year, to starting the past two seasons, McDevitt has harnessed those expectations and has "convinced" her of her potential to be a "really good player."

"Like many first-year and even second-year players, you have players ahead of you on the roster," said McDevitt. "Julia still got some quality playing time that year as she hit the ground running as a freshman. Her ability to do so many things makes it hard to keep her on the bench."

As a result, Champagne led the team in minutes this past season, a credit she gives to McDevitt.

"It's really nice to have coach have that kind of trust in me," said Champagne. "And not just trust, but to have him believe in you like that."

McDevitt credits her "outstanding" basketball instincts as well as her overall maturity as she gets older to her success on the court.

"Her dad Pete was an all-around player and I think she gets those instincts from him, you can't teach those," said her college coach. "I think she has grown over the years, becoming more mature. I have great confidence in her on the court as she's in a real comfortable place as a player."

Looking forward to her senior year, Champagne plans to leave nothing behind.

"This season was special, we just had to believe in ourselves," said the junior. "We knew what we had to do, and I expect that to carry on next year."

"One more year shouldn't be any different," added McDevitt, as he looks forward to seeing her on the court for her senior year.

As NCAA rules prohibit any formal practices with the coaching staff at St. Joe's during the offseason. However, Champagne plans to keep her skills sharp during the summer months with a summer league with some of her college teammates, whom will travel back to Maine to play.

"I'll play in the summer league, which is pretty competitive, with some of my teammates" said Champagne. "And we have a workout program that we do ourselves to stay sharp and in shape."

She will also continue practicing at a familiar place.

"I'll go to the Brunswick Rec. and play with my dad," adds Champagne. "He was a high school player at Cony and coached me through the years, so it's always good to go back and play with him."

As for the young girls of Brunswick, Champagne still continues to influence the hoopsters of Dragons basketball.

"Our current players as well as last season's seniors grew up watching and learning from Julia," said Farrell. "When Julia was playing in high school, the stands would be packed with little girls who came just to see her. Those girls are now playing for us here at BHS. One (Marley Groat), even chose 11 to match Julia's high school number. I credit much of our success the last two years to what Julia did in high school."

"I see some of the girls that used to watch me in high school at the Rec. during the summer," said Champagne. "It's really cool to know that I've influenced some of those players (on the Brunswick High School girls team)."