Liana Hartwell, center, of Valley High School and her teammates celebrate Saturday after Valley beat Central Aroostook/Mars Hill for the Class D state championship in Bangor. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

BANGOR — The members of the Valley girls basketball program couldn’t escape it. The players were raised on the stories. The trophy case near the entrance way of Upper Kennebec Valley High School served as a daily reminder.

From 1998-2003, the Bingham-based school housed one of the greatest boys basketball dynasties in state history. Those Cavaliers won six consecutive Class D titles and had a 101-game win streak. The best player from that dynasty, guard Nick Pelotte, was just announced as a 2025 Maine Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.

For all the success the boys basketball team has enjoyed, the girls program had never won a state title. That finally changed on Saturday afternoon, when the Cavaliers beat Central Aroostook 48-28 in the Class D final at the Cross Insurance Center.

“It’s amazing that we were finally able to do it,” said senior guard Madeline Hill, who scored 14 points. “(The boys dynasty) motivated us. Those teams were so good. We wanted to be like them and follow in their footsteps. Who wouldn’t?”

“My dad (Luke Hartwell) was a part of those teams, and he always talked about the Gold Balls, and how amazing it felt (to win),” said freshman guard Liana Hartwell. “We’ve watched his tapes from when he played, and they all just looked so happy. It was really good to bring that home (Saturday).”

The Valley girls certainly weren’t lacking in success. Saturday was the program’s fifth trip to a Class D final. The Cavaliers reached the state final last year, falling 60-42 to Southern Aroostook. Each of the past four seasons, the team had steadily improved its place in the tournament, falling the Class D semifinals in 2022 and the regional final in 2023.

Madeline Hill of Valley High School reacts as the final second ticks off the clock Saturday after Valley beat Central Aroostook/Mars Hill for the Class D state championship in Bangor. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

“Each year, we just went one step up,” Hill said. “To finally actually do it the last game of my career, it’s amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better way to do it.”

“It feels really good to know we got the first (title) and show up the boys, kind of,” added junior guard Kirsten Bigelow. “It drives us a lot. Everyone is rooting for the boys. People root for us, too, but when they think of the boys (team), they think of state (championships) of the past. It’s just one of those things.

“It’s a relief. We all knew we could do something great, and do it this year. We knew we could do it, and we worked every day.”

Valley (22-0) beat Central Aroostook in much the same way it had beaten much of the competition throughout the season. The guards — Hill (14 points), Hartwell (14) and Bigelow (10) — did the scoring, while the forwards, Brianna Mills (10 rebounds) and Rylee Clark (five rebounds) did the dirty work on the boards. The Cavaliers also played a stifling defense. The Panthers didn’t score more than 10 points in any quarter.

“The girls worked their tails off,” said Valley coach Gordon Hartwell. “They really dedicated themselves to working hard and they played hard. We had a great offseason, a great fall league, a great spring. Everything was geared to come back to this game.”

Gordon Hartwell was also chasing his own white whale. He was a member of the first Valley boys basketball team to reach the Class D final in 1974 when the Cavaliers lost 75-57 to Jonesport-Beals. As the Valley girls coach, he lost three state finals, to Woodland in 2006 and 2009, and Southern Aroostook last year. He witnessed his twin sons, Luke and Jason, win five Class D titles at Valley, four as players, as well as the 2014 Class D crown, when Luke was the head coach and Jason was an assistant.

With Saturday’s win, three generations of the Hartwell family have won a Gold Ball at Valley. Madeline Hill, Delia Hill and Liana Hartwell are Gordon Hartwell’s granddaughters.

“I wanted to get into the group,” Gordon Hartwell said with a laugh.

“It almost seems like, once you get over the hump and kick through the ceiling, I’m not saying it’s not difficult, but at least there’s more belief (in the possibility of winning state titles). Because you have an example, right in the trophy case as you walk in the door… I’m glad they’ve done it, and now I’m hoping that (we can do it again). Now, it’s more of an attainable goal. We should be strong for several years.”

There are now eight Gold Balls in the trophy case of Upper Kennebec Valley High School. But for the first time in its history, the girls program that is the gold standard.