The Machias High School girls basketball team reached the Class D North championship game with a roster devoid of a senior.
So the Bulldogs would have to be considered one of the favorites next season.
The Bulldogs lost to reigning Class C state champ Penobscot Valley of Howland in the title game 53-37.
Machias finished at 18-3, and its only two regular season losses were to D North top seed Bangor Christian, which was unbeaten until being upset by Penobscot Valley in the semifinals.
“The future looks good,” Machias head coach Scotty Reynolds said. “This is a team that wants to come in and work every day off. They want to come in Monday through Sunday.”
Penobscot Valley went on to win the state title over the weekend.
“Next year, we want to be where they are,” Reynolds said after the regional final matchup.
Sophomore forward Loretta Richardson earned a berth on the all-tourney team after averaging 16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and two steals in their three tourney games.
“We’re looking forward to next year. It’s really exciting,” Richardson said. “We want to try to get further next year.
Richardson said she believed that this is the first time Machias has played in a regional final in girls basketball in 31 years.
And she said the team will “definitely” keep getting better.
“We all like to play and getting [to the D North final] will make us want to win even more,” the talented Richardson said.
Penobscot Valley senior forward Lila Cummings said after the regional finals that Machias has some “young players who are very good, and I’m sure their growth will be great for their program.”
Howlers head coach Nate Case concurred.
“They’re going to be really good,” Case said. “They will build off of this.”
But he also warned that there will be pressure on them next year.
“They’re very good, but they have to understand now that there are going to be expectations,” Case added. “And it’ll be fun to see how they handle it when the pressure is on.”
Richardson was the only Bulldog to earn all-tourney honors, but two of her teammates earned honorable mentions in sophomore Olivia Reynolds and freshman Aubrey Wood.
Wood averaged 15.7 points, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and Reynolds produced 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds and she also blocked four shots in the three tournament games.
Sophomore guard Leah Libby averaged six points per game and also had a total of five assists and four steals, and junior guard Felicity Kelley averaged four rebounds per game and also dished out four assists in the tourney.
The supporting cast includes junior guard Justina Smith, freshman guard Ellie MacDonald, and freshman forwards Emma Dennison and Cheyenne Wood.