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SALEM TOWNSHIP — There are two Gold Balls in a display case that greet visitors entering the gymnasium inside Mt. Abram Regional High School.
They’re Class C championships, won by the girls basketball team in 1991 and 2007. The thought of adding a third seemed pointless in recent years, especially after a 6-12 record in the 2023-24 season.
But then things changed — and in a hurry, too. Now, for the first time in nearly 20 years, Mt. Abram will play for another Gold Ball after an accelerated turnaround.
The Roadrunners will take on Penobscot Valley in the Class D state final at 2:35 p.m. Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.
“I feel like we’re as excited as anybody would be,” said Mt. Abram senior Jenna Osgood. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us.”
The Roadrunners (18-3) steamrolled their Class D South competition, winning their three playoff games by an average margin of 28.3 points. The turnaround, coach Jason Wing said, did not just happen by chance.
“(Three years ago) we’d be getting pressed, down 20-0 and not able to catch the ball,” Wing said. “First practice, we were here throwing balls off the wall, working on catching.
“For me, the girls have really bought into their roles. If they’re good shooters, they worked on shooting. The guards have worked on dribbling. The bigs worked on their post play. … The girls have bought into the program. They just do what they need to do every night and what they’re asked to do.”
Wing also convinced some players to hone their games in the offseason, either on club teams or attenting various camps, such as the Gold Rush Basketball Camp at Thomas College in Waterville.
“We spend about six weeks in the summer together,” Wing said. “We took two teams to Gold Rush this year, one team last year. We go up to (a camp) in Millinocket for a weekend, play lots of games. We play in the Madison (summer) league. Some of the girls play AAU. I think they’ve just been itching for some success and they’ve earned it, for sure.”
“I think that’s really helped grow as a team and as a community,” added senior Abby McCarty.
There is also good team chemistry, as many players also were teammates on the school’s strong girls soccer team. Last fall, the Roadrunners won the Mountain Valley Conference championship before falling to Maranacook in the Class C South final.
“We don’t really have a lot of sports options, so we just play the same sports all year round together,” Osgood said.
The work is paying off. Mt. Abram is undefeated against Class D competition, relying on a strong defense. The Roadrunners are allowing 28.8 points per game for the season and yielded just 25 points per game during the regional tournament.
That defense will face its biggest test on Saturday. The Howlers (16-5) boast a prolific offense, led by senior guard Rylee Moulton. Penobscot Valley has been on fire in the playoffs, too, knocking off No. 1 seed Bangor Christian by 15 points and No. 2 Machias by 16 points. The Howlers went 22-0 last season and won the Class C championship.
“They’re very competitive, just as we are,” Osgood said. “We’re really going to have to communicate. They’re going to find the open pass, we’re just going to have to communicate. I think we’ll be successful.”
“Defense (is key), defense all day long,” added McCarty. “We’re a defensive team. Defense is what keeps us in the game and what we really do best. If we work on defense, we’ll (have success) on offense and we have players that are great at both.”
