Cecilia Dieterich leads an Oxford Hills fast break in the first quarter of the AA North final at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
PORTLAND — After losing by three points to the eventual Class AA champions Edward Little a year ago, Oxford Hills made it a point of emphasis to get back to the regional final to take care of some unfinished business.
Top-seeded Oxford Hills threw several defenses at No. 7 Deering on Friday and it paid off in a 51-29 regional final win that advances the Vikings to the Class AA state championship where they will face Scarborough.
“This is amazing, it’s awesome,” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said. “The girls worked so hard and we put in some time at the start of summer because it left a sour taste in our mouth the way last year ended for them.
“They wanted to get back here and give themselves a chance to win a state championship, and they did that.”
The Vikings jumped out to an 11-2 lead to start the game, overwhelming the Rams with a 2-3 zone to start, followed by a 1-3-1 zone and some man-to-man defense.
With Delaney Haines back in the Deering starting lineup after missing a large portion of the season with an injury, including the two teams’ regular-season matchup, Pelletier wanted to throw the kitchen sink at the Rams.
“When you get a team who has a really good player, the best thing you can do is confuse them as much as possible,” Pelletier said. “When we put Jade Smedberg at the top of that 1-3-1 zone it makes it very difficult on teams.”
Cecilia Dieterich recorded two steals in the first quarter and scored three points for Oxford Hills. At the end of the half, Dieterich, Margaret Hartnett and Bailey Whitney each had six points to give the Vikings a 27-13 halftime lead.
The Rams were on a dream run through the playoffs after finishing the regular season 4-14, and the Vikings wanted to wake them up quickly.
“We hit some baskets early then they got back into it, but as a whole it was great,” Pelletier said. “We shot the ball the way we should’ve shot the ball. Overall the girls played their butts off.”
Deering’s offense couldn’t find any rhythm or flow in the opening quarters as the Vikings switched through a variety of defenses.
After scoring only four points in the first half, Julia Colby started to attack the basket more in the third.
Colby, AA North Player of the Year, began the second half with two consecutive steals at half-court that turned into fouls under the basket. Colby made 3-of-4 foul shots, and added five more points in the quarter.
After the two trips to the charity stripe, Colby then grabbed a rebound and found Cassidy Dumont with an outlet pass for the layup and a 32-15 lead.
On the defensive end, the Vikings held Haines to just five points.
“We had to mostly face-guard her and make sure she didn’t pass the ball and that the ball wasn’t in her hands most of the time, and I think Cassidy did a great job defending her,” Colby said.
“Delaney Haines is an amazing player, and when you put a kid back onto a squad, everybody’s role turns back to what it used to be and they become more comfortable,” Pelletier said. “It was definitely a point of emphasis in practice to know where she was at all times, and I thought we did a pretty good job of it today.”
In the fourth, Hartnett hit her third 3-pointer of the contest to finish with nine points and the Vikings played a lot of keep-away with the Rams.
Colby hit two more free throws to finish with a game-high 14 points. The junior was also named the Red McMann Award winner, awarded to the top player in the regional tournament.
“It feels really good,” Colby said. “But I am just happy we won.”
For Deering, the magical postseason made up for a lackluster regular season.
“We had a tremendous run and we ran into an outstanding team today,” Deering coach Michael Murphy said. “But, I am so pleased to be able to bounce-back from a miserable season and have a good second season. Oxford Hills sped up our defense. They have a lot of strengths and they’re a good team. I am very pleased with the progress we made, we stuck together.”
Murphy was also glad that his star senior was able to enjoy the tournament after missing much of the regular season.
“I was glad for Delaney Haines to come back, a senior, to not lose out on her senior season,” Murphy said. “The seniors got to regional finals and a semifinal in their four years so they did their job.”
For the Vikings, the tall task of playing the AA South champion is not lost on them, but the challenge is accepted.
“It’s definitely in the back of our minds,” Pelletier said. “We’re going to put in a good week of practice and give it our best shot. Both these squads, Scarborough and South Portland, are tough squads so we are going to play our hearts out and hopefully we get a win.”
“We are going to play like we have been all year, and I think we can do it,” Colby said.
The Vikings will be playing in their third state title game since 2014. Their most recent trip was in 2017 when they lost to Gorham.
Oxford Hills players celebrate their Class AA North regional championship at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. The Vikings defeated Deering 51-29 to earn their third trip to a state championship game since 2014. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
Oxford Hills’ Cecilia Dieterich (10) has the ball batted away by Deering’s Victoria Garand after she drove the baseline during the AA North final at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
Deering’s Aviyoona Kim, center, draws a foul on Oxford Hills’ Julia Colby (21) on drive as Oxford Hills’ Brooke Carson looks to help during the AA North final at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
Oxford Hills’ Jadah Adams gets off a shot against Deering defenders Aviyonna Kim (4) and Delaney Haines, right, during the AA North final at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
Oxford Hills’ Jadah Adams gets off a shot over Deering defenders Aviyonna Kim (4) and Delaney Haines (23) during the AA North final at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
Deering’s Delaney Haines passes the ball off to a teammate while being guarded by Oxford Hills’ Jade Smedberg during the AA North final at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
Oxford Hills’ Julia Colby looks to shoot after driving the baseline against Deering’s Elizabeth Drelich during the AA North final at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)
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