The Mattanawcook Academy Lynx girls basketball team brought their first-ever state title home to Lincoln with Saturday’s Maine Class C championship win. And the House family was at the center of that history-making accomplishment.
Senior co-captain Megan House has been a stalwart leader for the undefeated Lynx during the perfect season, helping her team go 22-0 while securing the town of Lincoln’s first gold ball.
And her father, Pat House, is the coach of the now-champion Lynx team. They both spoke with the Bangor Daily News after Mattanawcook’s historic state championship win, sharing what it’s like for their family to play such a prominent role in that magical run.
“It’s incredible,” said Megan House, who highlighted how her older sister, Lauren, had also played in the program. House pointed to the Lynx’s loss in the regional championship a year ago and called the state title a “constant goal” over the years.
“So it’s really one step after the other,” the senior guard added. “It’s so special to be able to do this, along with my best friend and my dad, of course. “It feels so surreal.”
That best friend is fellow senior captain Addison Cyr, who anchored the Lynx throughout the season and is a finalist for the Miss Maine Basketball award that goes to the top senior in the state. Cyr and Megan House are both 1,000-point scorers, and their coach feels tremendously lucky to share the state title with them both.
“It’s absolutely amazing. You dream about these things,” Pat House said Saturday after the championship victory over a talented Spruce Mountain team from Jay. “Not every dad has this opportunity, not only to share it with both of my daughters, but her best friends.”
The coach explained that he’s had a front-row seat to their hard work, commitment and willingness to be all-in for the Lynx over the years, and now they all get to enjoy the reward.
“It’s just so heartwarming to see them get what they deserve,” Pat House added.
And now, the coach can point to a gold ball in the trophy case and tell future teams that this is what it takes to be a champion.
The Mattanawcook girls team had never won a state title before, and the boys from Lincoln hadn’t been to a state championship game since the Eisenhower administration. So this moment was decades in the making, and Pat House said it means a lot to the town.
“It’s crazy,” the coach said. “Our community, we’ve said for this whole run — the way our community has come out and supported us, and supported these girls, it’s remarkable. We can’t thank them enough.”
