By the time Katie Sibley graduated from Boothbay Region High School in 2003, she had netted 1,444 points and was a familiar face on the Sunday sports page.

But for the young basketball star who admits she could have spent more time reading her high school textbooks than Sports Illustrated magazines, something in her life was still incomplete, and the answer was unclear.

Sibley spent the next two years at the University of Southern Maine studying to be a nurse, but her busy basketball schedule conflicted with her studies, so instead of sacrificing sports, she dropped nursing and picked up a few political science classes.

That's when her life changed.

“(Sibley) initially tended to be quiet in class, but she was very intellectually curious and perceptive,” said Professor Ronald Schmidt, a political science teacher at USM. “I was always confident that Katie would see questions that other students didn't.”

Political science classes sparked Sibley’s interest in the legal system. 

Seven years later, Sibley is now an assistant attorney general for the state of Maine.

“I at least knew when I was getting ready to take the bar and pick a legal career, I only wanted to be one type of an attorney. I wanted to be a prosecutor,” Sibley said. “It’s nice to have so quickly gotten into the attorney general’s office, which to me is like the pinnacle, like this is where good prosecutors go.”

After earning her degree from Appalachian School of Law in 2011, Sibley interned at the district attorney's office in Wiscasset where she learned the ins and outs of criminal prosecution. After a stint working as an assistant district attorney in Waldo County, she became an assistant attorney general on November 4, 2013.

Sibley said prosecuting felonies in Maine's superior court can be exciting, but it's not exactly “Law & Order.”

“The courtroom is not nearly as dramatic as TV likes to portray,” Sibley said. “If you ever came and sat down, it’s pretty boring to most people, but I like it. In my mind it’s glamorous.”

Sibley speaks smoothly and carries herself as confidently as if she were effortlessly dribbling past opponents on the basketball floor.

When she’s not dealing with defense attorneys, Sibley’s preparing for court, and lately, she said, there’s been growing number of substance abuse cases.

“Maine has a real substance abuse problem and now people from out of state are coming to this state for the sole purpose of making money off other people’s substance abuse,” Sibley said. “I’d like to think each day when I get up, I’m trying to work at that problem.”

Sibley said growing up and playing sports in Boothbay provided her a safe and healthy place to live and learn.

“Boothbay gave me an environment where I could be adventurous, find things that I liked to do, and really tap into the inner competitiveness that I have,” she said.

After sustaining two knee injuries in college, however, it was time to hang up the hoop dreams. Basketball, Sibley said, is very similar to her job.  

“Every day is different, like every game is different. You have to prepare in the same way if you want to do well in court,” Sibley said.

Whether it’s working hard to win on or in the court, one thing is for certain when sizing up this young professional: When the time is right, there's no stopping Sibley. She was born to compete.