Cony names Alex Bessey girls basketball coach
AUGUSTA — Almost a decade after emerging as one of Maine high school basketball’s biggest names while at Spruce Mountain, Alex Bessey is set to lead one of the state’s most storied programs. After two years as the girls basketball coach at Mt. Blue, Bessey has accepted the same position at Cony High School, she and Cony athletic director T.J. Maines confirmed Friday. The former Spruce Mountain, Central Maine Community College and UMaine-Farmington standout replaces John Dennett, who resigned in August. Maines said he was impressed by Bessey’s “strong background” and called the 2017 Spruce Mountain graduate’s “firm but approachable” demeanor ideal for Cony’s program. He also saw in Bessey a promising vision for the future of the program. “I’ve known her since she was a player, and always kind of admired her in terms of the way she goes about doing things,” Maines said. “She was very articulate about what she wanted to do with the talented group we have coming back this year, but also what she wants to do at the youth level.” Bessey takes over a Cony program steeped in history. The Rams won seven state championships under legendary coach Paul Vachon from 1985-2008. The program experienced some ups and downs following Vachon’s retirement but returned to prominence under Dennett, winning the Class A North title in 2023-24 and going 16-4 last season. At Spruce Mountain, Bessey was a 1,000-point scorer and a two-time Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B first-team selection. She won an USCAA Division II national title with CMCC in 2018-19 before transferring to UMaine-Farmington, where she became a three-year starter. In addition to her success on the basketball court, Bessey was a standout field hockey player at Spruce Mountain and UMaine-Farmington. She’s the field hockey head coach at Spruce Mountain, which is 8-3 and in third place in the Class C South Heal point standings. This story will be updated.