WATERVILLE — Mara Von Oesen doesn’t tire easily, but even she acknowledged last season on the hardwood was at times tough to take.

“It (was) exhausting,” said Von Oesen, the lone senior on the Waterville High girls basketball team. “It’s really draining. You’re giving it your all and can barely get a breather (with low numbers).”

Indeed, the 2022-23 campaign was difficult for the Purple Panthers, who played most games with just eight players and finished 2-16.

The dismal season came as the program experienced a sharp decline in participation numbers, a trend Athletic Director Heidi Bernier acknowledged she saw coming.

“We saw it coming before the (coronavirus) pandemic,” Bernier said. “There was a few years there, when we were in the regional final, that we didn’t have enough girls to sponsor a JV basketball team. It was starting pre-pandemic, and we did see it coming. I certainly don’t think the pandemic helped, by all means.”

Waterville dropped its first two games of the season, but with 20 players now in the program, Bernier and second-year coach Nick Lavigne are optimistic better days await the Purple Panthers.

A resurgence would certainly be a welcomed relief for the program, which has encountered a steady and stunning fall from the top — the Purple Panthers played in the Class B North final in the 2019-20 season. Furthermore, Waterville won 67 consecutive games and three straight Class B titles from 2007-09 under former head coach Ted Rioux.

In 2021-22, the season after it reached the regional final, the Purple Panthers had just nine players in the program. Last season, the number shrunk again.

Members of the Waterville girls basketball team huddle in a timeout during a Dec. 12 game against Hall Dale in Waterville. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

“I think when the pandemic hit, some of our students went out and got jobs and had the ability to have money,” Bernier said. “I think some of the students that were on the fence (to play sports), those kids might have been swayed. I think your students who, what I would call, your ‘gamers,’ that are just passionate (about sports), I think they came back. But I think that kids who were maybe on the fence, who realized the commitment needed as part of a varsity program, as opposed to making money (with a job), we might have lost some of them.”

With just eight players in the program last season, Bernier added she was worried if she had enough to field a team.

“I was more worried we wouldn’t have enough to sponsor a girls basketball team last year, honestly, than I was about making it through the season,” she said. “When I had a meeting — with (game schedules) being made early on — I told the girls, ‘If you’re here and you put your name on the list, it’s really important that you’re committed and you’re going to stay with it. The reality is, I know that’s not always going to happen and it certainly didn’t. But I’m trying to think if we started with maybe 11 or 12, and I think we ended with nine. And like any sports programs, we had injuries and illness.

“I don’t think we were ever scared we’d have to cancel a game, but we certainly knew we weren’t always going into a game with the best competitive opportunity, just based on the number of available players to play, and the ability to compete.”

Last season, Waterville tabbed Lavigne to lead the program. A former boys junior varsity coach at Foxcroft Academy, Lavigne had never previously coached girls basketball.

The two-win season, he said, was tough for all involved.

Waterville girls basketball coach Nick Lavigne reacts during a Dec. 12 game against Hall Dale in Waterville. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

“It (was) tough to manage,” he said. “When you have one injury, it just kind of sets everything on fire. We kind of had to put those fires out, individually, every game. One girl out on an eight (person) team, it’s tough.”

It remains to be seen if Waterville can compete on a nightly basis in tough Class B North. The Panthers have lost their first two games by a combined 157-54.

Still, with plenty of players now in the mix, a turnaround — even if gradual — is the goal.

“It’s definitely weird coming to practice every day, having so many players be there at practice,” Von Oesen said. “It really helps, because we ended last year with six (players) on the bench. It’s really helpful to get us in and out (of the game), give us a break here and there.”

Added Lavigne, who credited junior high coaches Nathaniel White and Jon Hart for helping increase the numbers: “It’s great to have 20 in the program. I credit it to this community. I’m not from Waterville, but when I came into this role, a lot of people stepped up to help me. … Whenever I talk to the younger girls, I think the biggest thing is reiterating that I’m going to be here (when they get to the high school), so there will be a program. So, consistency (is pivotal), I guess.”

The Panthers are young. Aside from Von Oesen, three of the 20 players in the program are juniors, with the rest sophomores and freshmen.

While there will be growing pains, there is also stability in the program, something that can’t be measured in wins or losses.

“My main focus is just growing (as a team) together,” Von Oesen said. “It’s not all about what’s on the court. We’re a family outside. We’re really focused on building up the program, skill-wise and team-wise, for future years. I’m just really trying to grow them together, not individually.”

“Every game is going to be a little bit of a learning experience,” Lavigne added. “I’m going to be putting some of these younger girls in situations that a sophomore or freshman normally wouldn’t be in. And that’s to look toward the future. We could have (Von Oesen) with the ball every possession and spread it out. But does that teach the young girls anything? We’re going to teach the young girls so they can learn and help us out in the future. I think there’s 13 eighth graders and 13 seventh graders, it’ll help them, too.”

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