From the start of the season, Hampden Academy girls basketball coach Nick Winchester felt his team had the ability to compete for a Class A North championship.
“We had as much talent as anybody in the field. But we had such a young team, I didn’t know how they would react in a tournament environment,” said Winchester, who has just one senior on his roster in forward and tri-captain Caitlin Murphy.
They reacted just fine.
Even better.
The Broncos knocked off Brewer (43-27), Cony of Augusta (42-38) and Camden Hills of Rockport ( 59-52 in double overtime) to claim their first regional championship since they won three in a row from 2018 to 2020.
They have won 12 of their last 13 games and will bring a 16-5 record into Friday night’s 6 p.m. state title game against Mt. Ararat of Topsham, 19-2, at the Augusta Civic Center.
“We made a run at the end of the season and have been playing our best basketball at the absolute right time of the year,” said Winchester.
The three key factors in their success have been their defensive play, balanced scoring and the emergence of 6-foot-4 Grace LaBree, who transferred to Hampden Academy from Orono High after beginning her career at Brewer.
The Broncos have given up an average of just 40.4 points per game in their 21 games.
Winchester said his team turned the corner and became a much better defensive team as the season progressed, capped by holding Cony to its second lowest point total of the season.
Cony had scored at least 68 points in five of its previous seven games entering their semifinal against Hampden Academy.
“To hold Cony to 38 points took great execution,” said Winchester.
The Broncos are primarily a player-to-player team defensively, but they have used a 2-3 zone from time to time and have had great success with it, especially against AA North Bangor.
Hampden Academy beat the Rams 37-26 and 39-37.
“We hadn’t been very good, defensively. We had been giving up way too many points,” explained Winchester. “I was looking for a change. We used it the first time we played Bangor and never looked back from there.”
But he said they did stick with their player-to-player defense against Cony and Camden Hills for the most part.
“If we’re good in our player-to-player, that’s the way we like to play. But it’s good to know we also have the 2-3 zone,” said Winchester.
Offensively, the Broncos have four players averaging anywhere from 8.3 to 10.4 points per game and they had three different leading scorers in their three A North tournament wins.
Junior center LaBree had 15 points against Brewer; sophomore guard Aubrey Shaw had 13 against Cony and sophomore guard Eve Wiles had 19 in the win over Camden Hills.
“That’s the strength of our team,” said Winchester. “We don’t have one dominant player but we have five or six players who can score. You can’t take away one player or one part of our game and make us ineffective offensively.
Shaw is the team’s leading scorer at 10.4 points per game followed by LaBree (9.5), Wiles (9) and sophomore guard Katelyn Adams (8.3). Murphy is averaging 5.3 points per game.
“We have a lot of flexibility on our roster,” added Winchester.
Wiles and LaBree were the leading scorers in the tournament, averaging 12.3 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Next was Murphy with 8.7 ppg. Shaw averaged 7.7 and Adams was at 6.3.
LaBree has given them a dominant post presence but Winchester pointed out that it took some time for his players to learn “how to play off of her ” and for him to find a way to “maximize what she can do.”
Not only can LaBree finish around the rim and rebound, she is also an effective rim protector and shot blocker.
“We didn’t have a post last year. We had to spread the floor,” he said. “It took a while but everything came together at the right time.”
LaBree blocked four shots in the Camden Hills game and averages 1.6 blocks per game.
“And she alters two or three more shots. She’s also a very good passer who has a good feel for the game,” said Winchester.
Shaw is the team’s leading rebounder at 7.2 per game with LaBree at 6.1, Adams at 4.1, Wiles at 3.4 and Murphy at 2.5.
Wiles leads the team in assists at 3.7 per game followed by Murphy (2.6) and Adams (2.4) and Shaw is tops in steals at 1.8 followed by freshman guard Mallory Lausier (1.6).
Lausier is also one of four players who have the ability to produce points off the bench along with junior guard and tri-captain Madelyn DiCentes, junior forward Paige Richard and sophomore guard Blayne Tardif.
“They can all shoot the ball really well,” said Winchester.
Junior forward and tri-captain Zoe Higgins supplies quality minutes off the bench spelling LaBree.
“She runs the floor really well,” said Winchester.
Winchester said tri-captain Murphy’s leadership has been invaluable.
“She has kept everyone together. She has really kept the team connected. She’s the reason we are where we are,” said Winchester.
Hampden Academy will be seeking its first state championship since 1976 and Mt. Ararat, which will bring a 14-game winning streak into the game, will be playing in its first ever state title game.