The Mattanawcook Academy girls basketball team from Lincoln has never won a state championship.
The Lynx reached the Class C North title game a year ago but lost to eventual state champion Penobscot Valley of Howland, 42-37.
Mattanawcook seventh-year head coach Pat House has four starters back including a career 1,000-point scorer in Addison Cyr and another closing in on that milestone in Megan House, his daughter. The Lynx are 9-0 so far this season.
Mattanawcook currently sits atop the Class C North standings and seven of its nine victories have been by at least 30 points, including last weekend’s 69-39 road win over defending state Class B champion Caribou, which dropped down to Class C.
The only wins by less than 30 points were a season-opening 41-24 victory over Dexter, which lost to MA 35-32 in their C North semi a year ago, and a 55-46 win over Penobscot Valley, which is now in Class D. Penobscot Valley is the only team that has scored more than 39 points against the Lynx.
“We think we’re pretty good,” Pat House said. “One thing we talk about every game is we’re going to defend like crazy, we’re going to rebound and then then we’re going to try to run. And repeat that as much as we can.
“We figure if we can guard and rebound then we’re going to put ourselves in a pretty good position to get some offensive possessions, and that’s what we’ve been able to do so far,” he added. “We’re big and long and we have four starters back.”
The 6-foot-1 ½ Cyr was a second team Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl Basketball selection a year ago when she averaged 21.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. And she is having an even better season this year.
The Husson University-bound Cyr has averaged 25 ½ points, 17 rebounds and 4.5 to 5 assists this season according to House.
“Her assists are up this year,” House said about Cyr. “We’ve really done a good job moving the ball.
Cyr was also chosen to the all-tourney team for the second time in her career last season.
The six-foot House, who was an All-Maine honorable mention, was also picked to the all-tourney team and is currently averaging 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists per contest.
“She has really improved her perimeter shooting. She has been hitting two or three threes per game and that has opened things up for Addison,” explained Pat House.
He said his daughter and fellow senior Cyr are the best of friends and they’re “really connected on the court” for the Lynx.
“They find each other. It’s pretty neat. They make passes to one another that two other girls wouldn’t be able to make,” the coach said. “They have a trust that if they put a pass near the other one’s hands, they are going to catch it. The window might be small but they’re willing to take that chance.”
The other returning starters are senior point guard Juliana Cloukey and junior shooting guard Natalie Turner.
Cloukey is averaging eight points and over three steals per game and is a top-notch defender.
“When we want to take away a shooter, we put Juliana on her. She’s really good at staying connected. She works well over screens. She understands her responsibilities,” House said. “Offensively, she’s good from the perimeter and dictates things for us as our prime ball handler.”
Turner also plays sound defense and she gives the Lynx another 3-point option. She has averaged six points per game.
The other starter is senior Chloe De La Cruz, a six-foot-one post presence who is averaging five points, six rebounds and two blocks per game. She is also a quality defender.
House said he has some solid players who provide some productive minutes off the bench.
They included senior guard-forward Emma Ayotte, who can play on the wing and be a secondary post player; junior shooting guard and “heady defender” Riley Irish; junior forward Eliza Donath and guards Vanessa Morse, a sophomore and junior lLilly Noonan.
Freshman Rylee Cyr, Addison’s sister, has vastly improved over the course of the season and is earning more playing time according to House.
He said his team’s versatility on the defensive side of the ball has been a big plus.
“One of the great things about these girls is they can do multiple things,” House said. “We are primarily man-to-man but we can also do some zone trapping, some triangle-and-two and some box-and-one. They do a very good job.
The coach added that Megan House is “the ultimate helper” in the team’s zone defense.
“She knows who needs help and who doesn’t need help, and that allows Addison and Chloe to protect the paint and rebound,” the coach added.
Even though House’s team has already beaten them, he expects Caribou and Dexter to be two of their primary challengers.
“They are both going to be better in February than they are right now,” House said about the Tigers and the Vikings, noting that Dexter “guards like crazy” and crediting the skill of Caribou guards Quinn Corrigan and Lilly Bell.
House also said Foxcroft Academy from Dover-Foxcroft and George Stevens Academy from Blue Hill are in the mix as well.
Both won seven of their first eight games this season.
Mattanawcook Academy beat GSA earlier this season 75-39 and will host the Eagles on Friday at 6:30.
The Lynx don’t play Foxcroft Academy during the regular season.