The Southern Aroostook High School girls basketball team from Dyer Brook had never faced a double-digit deficit in its four state Class D championship game victories over the previous five seasons entering last Saturday’s title game against Valley High of Bingham at the Augusta Civic Center.
The Warriors trailed by as many as 14 in the first half against Valley before using a 20-2 run to triumph 60-42, making it five titles in six years.
They became just the fourth Maine high school basketball program, boys or girls, to win five state titles in a six-year span.
The Valley High School boys won six D championships in a row from 1998-2003 and the Jonesport-Beals boys (‘70-74) and Wasburn girls (2011-15) each won five straight, also in Class D.
The Southern Aroostook girls lost to Greenville in the 2020 state final 42-38 and there were no high school tournament games the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Southern Aroostook beat Class B Presque Isle in the Aroostook County pod final that season.
The Southern Aroostook girls have won a total of seven Gold Balls all time as the SA girls also won state titles in 1992 and 1995.
“This one was special because we really wanted to win three in a row. It had never been done before in basketball at the school,” said Warriors 13th-year head coach Cliff Urquhart. “It’s always sweeter when you get a win like that, coming from behind.”
The Warriors’ previous four state championship game wins were by an average of 27.5 points per game including 68-30 and 58-18 wins over Seacoast Christian the previous two seasons.
“It was definitely more challenging and nerve-wracking,” said senior guard Cami Shields, who poured in a game-high 28 points including 20 in the second half.
She said they stayed positive when they were down.
“We encouraged one another. We pushed each other. We said ‘we can’t lose this. We can do it,” said Shields. “We handled it really well.”
“Coach (Urquhart) told me before the game that I had to be a leader,” said Shields. “I knew I had to make some big shots.”
“Cami is a great leader,” said Urquhart. “She has been consistent all season. She made some free throws down the stretch and played great defense.”
Shields sank eight of her nine free throws in the fourth quarter.
Two tactical moves paid dividends.
The Warriors started effectively hedging hard on screens, meaning when the ballhandler/ potential shooter tried to dribble around her teammate screening for her, the Warrior defender would dart at and around the screener and confront the potential shooter before she could get a shot off. Shots were more efficiently contested.
“We were able to put more pressure on the ball and push the (ballhandler/shooter) back,” explained Urquhart. “That made it easier for us to switch off.”
Urquhart also changed from a man-to-man defense to a 1-2-1-1 half-court trap later in the second period and it forced a number of turnovers leading to transition points.
“And the main thing is we hit some shots which made us feel more comfortable,” said Urquhart.
They whittled the 14-point deficit down to 24-21 at the half and promptly outscored the youthful Cavaliers 39-18 in the second half including a 24-7 advantage in the fourth quarter.
“All year long we struggled in the first quarter. But the third quarter was our quarter. We’d say ‘Let’s go on a run,” said Cami Shields.
Both said an Achilles tendon injury to referee Lance Cowan that resulted in a 14-minute delay early in the second period was beneficial.
“It gave us time to calm down, focus and make adjustments,” said Shields.
Shields said the turning point in the season came in the only loss, 49-47, to Class C Fort Kent on Dec. 16.
“After that game, we said we have to work harder. Then we started to play much better,” said Shields.
SA won its next 19 games to finish at 21-1.
She said her team takes pride in its aggressive defense and praised Valley for its performance.
“They’re a great team,” she said.
The Warriors haven’t lost to a Class D North opponent since 2017.
However, they did have experience falling behind by double-digits during their gruelling preseason and summer schedules over recent years which have included games against defending state B champ Ellsworth, 2024 Class B North titlist Old Town and Class A top seed Lawrence of Fairfield.
“That helped prepare us for (the state) game,” said Shields, a career 1,000-point scorer.
Their experience and tournament savvy was also helpful, she said.
It was a special game for Shields because she called it her “last dance” as she heads to Husson University to study nursing in the fall.
“This was the fourth state game I played in. I played as an eighth-grader. It’s crazy. It feels like yesterday,” she said.
Urquhart will have some rebuilding to do for next year with Class D North Tournament Most Valuable Player Shields, all-tourney choice Emmalee Landry and point guard Madison Shields, Cami’s cousin, all graduating.
Urquhart will have standout guard and all-tourney pick Ally Shields, Cami’s sister, and sophomore guard and fellow starter Hannah McGary back. Junior center Libby Anderson was the first player off the bench and produced points in the paint and rebounds and freshman guard Alexa Hersey showed a lot of promise according to Urquhart.
Junior Olivia Ellingwood and her freshman sister Jazmyn will also be back as will freshman Emma Stubbs and eighth graders Haley McGary, Hannah’s sister, and Kendal Lawlor.
“Class D will be wide open next year,” said Urquhart who feels Jonesport-Beals, Bangor Christian and Central Aroostook of Mars Hill will be among the primary challengers in D North and Valley could be a state title contender from D South for years to come.
