AUGUSTA- Southern Aroostook would go on a 20-2 run after trailing by 14 in the second quarter, and Cami Shields scored 20 of her game-high 28 points in the second half Saturday afternoon in leading the Warriors to their third straight Class D Girls Basketball State Championship with a 60-42 victory over Valley at the Augusta Civic Center.
Valley had the first run of the game at 13-0, capped off by a three-pointer from Kristen Bigelow after trailing 4-3 early on to take a 16-4 first quarter lead. The Cavaliers would have an advantage of 22-8 in the second on a basket from Rylee Clark. Southern Aroostook took over from there. The Warriors ended the half on a spurt of 13-2 to slice their 14 point deficit to 24-21 at halftime. Cami Shields helped give her team the lead for good early in the third quarter, as she scored five of the first seven Warriors points and had 10 of the 20 for Southern Aroostook during what turned out to be a 20-2 run to take a lead of 28-24. Valley put four players in the scoring column during the period though, and only trailed 36-35 heading into the final eight minutes. It was the two-time defending champions who would put it away in the fourth, outscoring the Cavaliers 24-7 to win their third goldball in a row and fifth in the last six seasons. Cami Shields helped to accomplish that by adding 12 more points in the final quarter (8-9 from the free throw line).
Madeline Hill led Valley in the loss with 13 points and four rebounds. Liana Hartwell had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Clark added eight points and six rebounds. Also chipping in was Bigelow with six points and four assists, and Brianna Mills who had four points and four assists. The Cavaliers, who were seeking their first state championship in their second title game appearance, end a fantastic season as runner-up with a record of 21-1. Cami Shields added five rebounds to her game-high point total for Southern Aroostook. Ally Shields had nine points and three rebounds, and Emmalee Landry had 15 rebounds to go along with seven points and six assists. Also contributing was Madison Shields with seven points, Libby Anderson with seven points and seven rebounds, and Olivia Ellingwood who had a basket for two points. The Warriors win their seventh state title overall.
Written by Rich Rotella and Chris Lessner/Photo by Chris Lessner
