BANGOR- The Oceanside Mariners used a 12-0 first quarter run and built a 15 point halftime lead on Friday night, holding off Old Town 33-25 in a Maine Principals’ Association Class B Girls Basketball State Championship game at the Cross Insurance Center.
It was back and forth early on with three lead changes, before a basket by Sophia Daggett for Oceanside would push them ahead for good and began a substantial run. They turned a 5-4 deficit into a 16-5 lead with 12 straight points, and a three-pointer in the second quarter by Grace Mackie made it an 18-2 spurt to extend their advantage to 22-7. The Mariners led 25-10 at halftime, with Mackie hitting 3 three-pointers for all nine of her points and her teams points during the period.
Makayla Emerson tried to lead the North Champions from Old Town back into it in the third quarter. Emerson had six points, as the Coyotes outscored Oceanside 10-3 to cut it to 28-20 heading to the fourth. They would slice it to six on a bucket by Saige Evans to start the final eight minutes, but that is as close as they would get. Despite some troubles from the foul line to keep the Coyotes within striking distance, Aubrianna Hoose and Bailey Breen would help ice it by hitting 5-6 at the charity stripe combined down the stretch giving the Mariners their second state title in the past three seasons (31-28 over Hermon, 2022).
Old Town, playing in just their second state title game in school history and first since 1980 (Class A), was led by Emerson who had 14 points and four rebounds. Evans had nine points and seven rebounds, while Karina Dumond added two points. The Coyotes finish a fantastic season as the runner-up at 19-3, that included an upset win over defending state champion Ellsworth in the regional final. Oceanside got nine points from both Mackie and Renee Ripley, who each hit 3 three-pointers. Hoose had seven points, Daggett chipped in four points and five rebounds, while Breen also contributed four points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots. The Mariners cap off a perfect year at 22-0.
Recap by Rich Rotella and Chris Lessner/Photos by Anthony DelMonaco
