Mt. Ararat players hold up the championship plaque after beating Gray-New Gloucester 57-37 to win the Class A South title on Friday at the Portland Expo. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

A year after watching someone else cut down the nets at the Portland Expo, the Mt. Ararat girls basketball team got the chance to do it themselves.

But before cutting the nets down, the top-seeded Eagles torched them.

Mt. Ararat made seven 3-pointers on its the way to a 57-37 win over third-seeded Gray-New Gloucester in the Class A South final on Friday night.

“We were here last year,” junior forward Julianna Allen said. “We watched (Brunswick) cut down the nets, and we did not want to watch people cut down the nets again, so we just had to come out, and we came out strong. We came out with a lot of energy, and we just pushed really hard till the end.”

The Eagles (19-2) never trailed and led as much as 24, earning their third and largest win over the Patriots (16-5) this season. This is the first regional title in Mt. Ararat program history.

Mt. Ararat will take on Hampden Academy (16-5) in next Friday’s state championship game at the Augusta Civic Center.

“I’m so excited,” Mt. Ararat coach Julie Petrie said. “Told the girls, I’ve been emotional all day because I just wanted it for them so bad.”

Senior guard Cali Pomerleau recorded 14 points, five rebounds and two steals. Kennedy Lampert chipped in with 10 points and two assists. Allen had nine points, blocked three shots and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

The Eagles switched things up from their two regular-season wins over the Patriots. Instead of playing a 1-3-1 zone, as was the case in the 15-point and 11-point victories, Mt. Ararat played man defense from baseline to baseline.

“We kind of thought that they would have prepared for zone the whole time, and we had it as our plan B, but we didn’t really need it,” Allen said. “I mean, our defense was creating offensive opportunities, so we just kept pushing with our man because that’s what was working.”

Mt. Ararat held Gray-New Gloucester to five points in the first quarter and 16 in the first half. The Eagles scored 10 points off turnovers.

“I think we just outworked them,” Pomerleau added. “I mean, we just work hard every year on our defensive pressure, I just don’t think they can handle it. And, you know, we made big shots, and we just played our game. We do what we do.”

Pomerleau’s return to form behind the arc also helped. The school’s career leader in 3-pointers made three shots from long range.

“I’ve been cold this whole week, so I knew tonight, hopefully, was gonna be the night,” Pomerleau said. “Yeah, it felt really good to knock down a couple for my team, and just do what I’ve been doing all season to help us win.”

From 5:06 in the second quarter on, Mt. Ararat maintained a double-digit lead. The Patriots didn’t go quietly, trailing by 13 at halftime and after three quarters, but their shots weren’t falling.

“We’re actually a better man team,” Gray-New Gloucester coach Mike Andreasen said of his team’s offense. “We were more worried about if they had thrown a zone. We did a lot of prep work on that, because with the zone, you’ve really got to be able to knock shots down to do well. I think that had they zoned us, it would have been equally devastating, because I just don’t think we shot the ball (well).”

Sophomore guard Abbey Steele led the Patriots with 13 points, while senior guard Izzy Morelli added nine. Junior forward Ella Kenney contributed seven points and two assists.

“They hit you with so many weapons,” Andreasen said. “We’re usually pretty good at taking away their best weapon, but if they’ve got a bunch of weapons, they’re gonna get you. And our defense — we’re not good enough defensively to really lock them down and get a stop.”

Eight players scored for the Eagles, including Avery Beal (eight points), Kayleigh Wagg (seven points) and Elena Willis (five points).