Rachel Feeley of Cheverus hoists the Class AA North championship plaque while celebrating with teammates following their victory over Oxford Hills on Saturday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

The Cheverus girls basketball team suffered a rare loss right before the turn of the new year, 47-44 to Scarborough. No problem.

But then came a loss to Edward Little. And then another, by 16 points, to Gorham. Suddenly, the defending Class AA state champions had problems. Changes were needed. Offensively, defensively, everywhere.

“We went back to basics,” coach Bill Goodman said. “We just had to get better. We had no choice. Or we were going to keep losing.”

The end of the season has certainly looked familiar, with Cheverus cutting down nets and preparing to play for a state championship for the third time in four years. But unlike last year, when the Stags were undefeated and looking to finish off a season of wire-to-wire dominance, this year’s team, with three straight losses and defeats in four of six games in early- to mid-January, had to weather a patch in which it looked shaky and vulnerable.

“It was definitely hard,” junior guard Anna Goodman said. “That was a really big moment for us, to kind of realize ‘Wow, we need to get our act together.’ ”

There are losses that are just the result of an off night, a mistake or two, the bounce of a ball, or the call of an official. But there are also losses that reveal flaws. And when the Stags fell to Scarborough, Edward Little (55-50) and Gorham (62-46), Bill Goodman, a five-time state champion, could tell he was looking at the latter.

“We had a lot of bad habits going on,” he said. “We weren’t rotating, we were slow, so we had to get faster on defense, we had to rotate, we had to learn to anticipate and not react. It was just a lot. There were a lot of things we weren’t doing well. I was shocked.”

The players could see it, too.

“We just weren’t playing our basketball,” senior guard Rachel Feeley said. “We started to play more physical teams and more fast-paced teams, and that kind of caught up to us. … We were turning over the ball, we weren’t rotating well on defense, we weren’t talking on defense.”

Cheverus players celebrate late in the fourth quarter during a Class AA North semifinal against Edward Little at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

In practices after the Gorham loss, Goodman started implementing his plan to fix the problems. To speed up his team, he had the Stags move to a man-to-man defense instead of their typical zone scheme.

“(We worked on) rotating correctly on defense, getting to the right spots, making sure it was the way he wanted, and not messing up,” junior guard Kylie Lamson said. “If we messed up, we had to run. We had to keep going and make sure it was perfectly the way he wanted it.”

On offense, ball movement became the focus, and less relying on Lamson to carry the offense on her shoulders. The Stags wanted to better use each player’s strengths at different places on the floor.

“When people were paying attention to (Lamson), we needed a backup plan,” coach Goodman said. “We’ve been working on where they need to get the ball and what to do with it, and how to score when they get the ball in certain areas.”

With time, a more balanced offense started to take form.

“We definitely didn’t move the ball, we weren’t a very fast team before,” Lamson said. “Now we’ve really picked it up. We’re moving the ball fast, we’re taking the great shots, we’re not just taking the good shots.”

Kylie Lamson of Cheverus shoots over Ella Pelletier of Oxford Hills during the Class AA North regional final. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

The Stags won their next two games, beating Thornton Academy and then Sanford, on 40 points from Lamson. Though the dynamic junior dominated the scoring, her teammates found her in good positions to score, indicating the Stags’ improved team offense.

A loss to Oxford Hills followed and another to South Portland came shortly after, but the Stags knew they were on to something. The defense was better, but cold shooting cost them against the Vikings, and a blistering third quarter for South Portland doomed Cheverus in that game.

“After that loss, we knew we are still able to compete with anyone,” Feeley said. “If we lose eight games, if we lose two games, we are still able to play our basketball.”

The Stags haven’t lost since, and avenged two of their earlier defeats — Edward Little and Oxford Hills. The lessons have played out. Addie Jordan has scored in double figures in all three playoff games. Abby Kelly had a 16-point game in the semifinals. The defense kept Oxford Hills off the board for over five minutes in the fourth quarter of a 41-37 regional final victory.

The losses in December and January stung, but the players know they served a purpose.

“I think it was good for the team,” Feeley said. “It enrages you, it gives you drive. And I think that’s what we needed. We needed to have drive, and we needed to have motivation.”

Coach Goodman put it succinctly.

“If we didn’t go through that,” he said, “maybe we wouldn’t be here today.”