The Valley Cavaliers from Bingham took home the first state title in the newly-created Class S to be crowned Maine champions once again on Saturday.
The Cavalier girls’ win was never much in doubt as they jumped out to an early 18-4 lead over Wisdom of St. Agatha en route to a 48-30 championship victory at the Augusta Civic Center.
It was the Valley girls’ second-straight state championship after they took home the Class D title last year.
Saturday’s state title was the first awarded in the new Class S, created this year for Maine schools with enrollment below 100 students.
The win for Valley started what could be a very big day for the small school from Bingham, with the Cavalier boys team set to compete for their own Class S state championship immediately following the girls game.
The girls from Valley finished the year 21-1 after winning the Class S South regional title to earn their spot in Saturday’s state game.
The Cavaliers capped a dominant run in the postseason tournament, having won their previous three South regional games by a staggering average of more than 50 points per contest.
That made Saturday’s state championship the closest game they played all tournament.
Valley’s only loss of the year came during the regular season against Class D school Bangor Christian.
North regional champ Wisdom wrapped up an impressive 20-2 campaign that included a regional Most Valuable Player award for senior guard Ava Lerman.
Lerman led all scorers Saturday with 20 points. But the balanced Valley attack was too much.
The Cavaliers were led by sophomore Delia Hill with 13, sophomore Liana Hartwell with 10, and senior Kristen Bigelow with eight.
