You might not believe it, folks, but we are one month away from the Maine high school basketball tournament (insert screams here).

Now that we’re past the midway point of the 2025-26 regular season, games seem to go by at warp-speed and contenders begin to show themselves from all corners of the state.

Here are five storylines that we think stand out this week.

Strong field emerges in Class A North

The region is led by defending regional champion Hampden Academy. The Broncos (9-1) had an eight-game winning streak heading into a matchup with Bangor on Tuesday. The streak includes victories over standout Class B programs such as Lawrence and Ellsworth.

Hampden’s continued success shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given the Broncos graduated just one player from last year’s team. The Broncos are led by a strong junior class, which includes the formidable combination of guards Eve Wiles and Aubrey Shaw, along with senior center Grace LaBree, one of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s top rebounders.

The Broncos, however, have no wiggle room at the top of the field. Defending Class A champion Mt. Ararat — which moved to Class A North this season under the latest Maine Principals’ Association realignment — sits in the No. 2 spot in the Heal point standings, also with a 9-1 record prior to a game Tuesday against Brunswick. With the exception of a 48-47 overtime loss to Gray-New Gloucester on Jan. 6, the Eagles have won their games by an average margin of 42.4 points.

No. 3 Edward Little is 10-1. No. 4 Camden Hills — which gave Hamdpen Academy it’s lone loss in a 48-33 contest on Dec. 9 — is 8-2, as is No. 5 Bangor. As of now, the A North playoffs look to be nothing less than a slugfest.

Is Windham the A South dark horse?

The Eagles (6-3) sit at No. 5 in a strong A South field. The Eagles entered Tuesday’s game against Kennebunk with a three-game winning streak since a 59-35 loss to No. 1 Cheverus on Dec. 23.

The Eagles are sixth offensively in the Southwestern Maine Activities Association, but more notable, they are fourth in the conference in points allowed (35.4). Senior guard/forward Marley Jarvais is averaging nearly a double-double (12.6 points, 8.9 rebounds), while junior forward Mackenzie Delewski is fifth in the SMAA in scoring, averaging 14.9 points.

Windham will surely be tested on the back end of its regular-season schedule. The Eagles face No. 4 Biddeford (9-2), No. 3 South Portland (8-1) and a rematch with Cheverus (11-0).

Gardiner making a hard charge in Class B North

Simply put, the Tigers (11-0) have been on a roll, winning by an average of 25.5 points per game. Coach Britney Gero’s squad is off to its best start since Lizzy Gruber — now a forward at the University of Maine — was on the roster in back in 2023. Gardiner is No. 2 in B North Heal points, behind Old Town (9-2).

The Tigers picked up a notable win on Monday night, besting B North powerhouse Lawrence, 55-50.

Gardiner has several standouts offensively, from junior guard Zoey Sullivan-Brennan to sophomore guards Molly Takatsu and Zoey Epperson. But an intriguing addition to the roster has been 6-foot-3 freshman center Alexa Quintana. Easily the tallest forward at Gardiner since Gruber, Quintana has already proven to be a force in the post as one of the KVAC’s top rebounders.

Gardiner has a rematch with No. 5 Lawrence (7-3) scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday in Gardiner.

Young Cape Elizabeth makes progress in B South

The Capers (4-6) are young this winter. Very young. With 10 freshmen on its varsity roster, Cape Elizabeth is easily one of the youngest teams in the Western Maine Conference, if not the state. As of Tuesday, the Capers were No. 12 in the Class B South standings, just outside the playoff field.

However, Cape Elizabeth has certainly made progress, winning two of its first three games of the season and nearly pulling off an upset of No. 3 Greely (8-2) in a 29-27 loss on Dec. 18 and almost beating Yarmouth (5-5) in a 21-20 loss on Jan. 2.

Three freshmen, forward Anna Morse and guards Sadie Raffaele and Molly Brownell, have been Cape’s top contributors offensively.

The Capers still have a shot at the playoffs, with matchups against Yarmouth, No. 5 Poland (6-3) and C South standout Wells (7-2) remaining on their schedule.

D South looking like a three-team race

Buckfield (10-2) leads Class D South and has won three straight games by an average margin of 35.3 points. But Mt. Abram (8-2), winner of six straight, boasts a 38-30 victory over the Bucks on Jan. 6.

No. 3 Carrabec (10-1) is the only other team in the region aside from Buckfield with 10 wins. The Cobras dropped a 64-59 contest to Buckfield on Dec. 9, but they’ll have a chance to exact revenge when they hosts the Bucks at 5 p.m. Wednesday.