Bates College basketball coach Jim Murphy just so happened to show up at the most opportune times to watch Annie Burns play for Masconomet Regional the last couple of years.

Murphy wasn't all that interested in seeing what the point guard could do in Masco's blowout wins against overmatched Cape Ann League opponents. He was much more selective than that.

"I saw her play about five times against teams like Pentucket," said Murphy, referring to one of the elite teams not just in the CAL but in Eastern Mass. "I watched her in close games, and she was the difference every time.

"She was known as Big Game Annie at Masco, right? Well, that's what I saw. She had this unique ability to rise to the occasion. Whatever the team needed, she did it."

Burns, a two-time CAL All-Star and a Salem News all-star, made Murphy happy by choosing to attend Bates in Lewiston, Maine, where she's been an impact freshman. The Topsfield resident has started all 12 games, leads the team in assists and is averaging 5.4 points for a team that is off to a 9-3 start.

Actually, Bates got even more than it bargained for with the versatile and open-minded Burns, who became the starting goalie for the soccer team even before the basketball season began.

"I wasn't going to play soccer in college," said Burns. "I was just going to use the first semester to settle in, but (Bates soccer assistant) Carla Flaherty called me and said the team needed more goalies. That meant I had to get up to school by the end of August (for preseason), but I'm glad I decided to do it. I found a group of friends right away, and it made it easier to settle into college."

Intelligent — and clutch

Playing two sports at Bates isn't uncommon — three soccer players are also on the basketball team, and five basketball players plan to play softball next spring — but excelling in two sports is a challenge that Burns has met so far.

Burns started six games in net for the soccer team, played 600 minutes, posted one shutout and had a goals-against average of 1.50. In basketball, she's shooting a very respectable 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point land and paces the team in steals along with assists. Murphy is certain she would score more if she wasn't so unselfish, but Burns is a pass-first point guard in the classic sense.

Burns' success doesn't surprise Bob Romeo, who was her basketball coach at Masconomet.

"I felt that in her junior year she was showing signs that she could be a college player," Romeo said. "My thought was that Annie could play in Division 2, but those schools didn't show a lot of interest.

"From a basketball IQ standpoint, Annie is as smart as any player I've ever seen. She handled whatever role we ever gave her. The one thing about her is that it wasn't easy to get her to shoot, but when we needed a big hoop, I never had to say a word to her. I have countless examples of her hitting clutch shots for us."

Burns was a model of efficiency with at Masco, and it's carried over at the college level. In one game against St. Joseph's, Burns took just two shots (and hit both) despite playing a lot of minutes. As the team's quarterback, she's content to get the ball to Val Beckwith (17.8 ppg.), a first team all-conference player who has over 1,000 career points, and the rest of her teammates.

"The players look to Annie," said Murphy. "She's good in a fast break situation and a gifted passer. She loves to pass. The players are faster and quicker than the ones she saw in high school and she likes to get them the ball. She just gets better and better."

Said Burns, "Coach is trying to get me to shoot more, but I don't know. I like to pass."

Self improvement

Making the competitive leap from high school to college, Burns already recognizes the areas she needs to work on. It's a much more physical game in college, a much faster game, and Burns is still trying to make those adjustments.

"I need to reduce my turnovers," said Burns, who has 49 for the season, "and I definitely need to improve on defense. The boxing out and the rebounding¬­ — I have to get better."

She has three years to do it, and rest assured that Murphy is looking forward to every second that Burns will be there.