PORTLAND, Maine – The senior tandem of Maddie Fitzpatrick and Ruth Boles led the Cheverus girls basketball team to a convincing 38-24 victory over Gorham earning the Stags the Class AA state championship in front of a big crowd at the Cross Insurance Arena Saturday night.
Boles scored a game-high 17 points and Fitzpatrick added 14 more to help North champion Cheverus complete a perfect 22-0 season.
Gorham, the South champion, finished the season at 18-4.
The key juncture of the game came in the third quarter when Gorham’s Logan Doughty hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to pull the Rams within 25-21 with 1:40 left. But Megan Dearborn of Cheverus answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer to boost the lead to 28-21 at the end of the quarter.
After Boles nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 31-21 with 4:43 to go in the game, Gorham could get no closer.
The Stags took a 17-10 halftime lead thanks to 9 points from Fitzpatrick, who scored inside and outside, nailing a 3-pointer from the right wing early in the second quarter. Boles had six points in the half, including a steal and layup at the buzzer ending the first quarter that gave her team a 10-9 lead.
Cheverus held Gorham to one point in the second quarter, with Kalin Curtis hitting one of two from the line. The Stags played box-and-one defense on Rams star Ellie Gay, who managed two points in the first half and four points in the game.