Maine State Championships Recap: Top Performers

<p>While the state championships for Maine high school girls basketball came at the beginning of the month, now is the perfect time to look back on them and talk about the top players and performances from this season's five state title games.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Makayla Emerson - Old Town (2024)</h2>   <p>For such a great performance as Emerson put on for Old Town, the Coyotes came up short, losing to an unbeaten Oceanside team. However, what a day for the senior, scoring 14 points in her final high school game with a pair of made three-pointers and more sprinkled throughout. Really impressive performance from her as she'll be quite the piece to have to replace next season for the 'Yotes.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Grace Mackey - Oceanside (2027)</h2>   <p>No one on Oceanside scored more than nine points in a state championship-winning performance, but with five players scoring four or more points, it was a balanced effort. For this, we'll focus on the freshman talent from the Mariners, Grace Mackey, who drained three 3-pointers in the 33-25 win. Her and [player_tooltip player_id='354205' first='Renee' last='Ripley'] both hit a trio of threes, providing a big spark from deep.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ruth Boles - Cheverus (2024)</h2>   <p>The cream rises to the top in big moments, and senior Ruth Boles stepped up to the challenge for Cheverus in the Stags' 14-point win for the Class AA title. She led all scorers with 17 points, getting the majority of her scoring from inside the arc or at the foul line. A methodical performance, Boles dominated the competition and was far-and-away the best player on the floor.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Morgan Cunningham - Cony (2024)</h2>   <p>It's no shocker that a pair of seniors were the top players in the Class A state final between Cony and Brunswick, an eventual 20+ point blowout win for the Dragons. Morgan Cunningham led the charge for Cony, a one-woman show at that. She finished with a team-high 17 points, leading all players with three 3-pointers in the loss. She did all she could, but just came up short in the end.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dakota Shipley - Brunswick (2024)</h2>   <p>Brunswick ended up having two scorers finish in double-figures in its state title win, but Shipley was the star of the show in a big way, making her presence inside the arc felt. What a final high school performance for her, finishing with 21 points for the Dragons, unable to be stopped at all as she happily hoisted the Golden Ball with her teammates after the final buzzer sounded.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jade Graham - Hall-Dale (2025)</h2>   <p>Graham nearly powered Hall-Dale to a state title on her own, but unfortunately, her team couldn't finish the job. It doesn't take away from a rather insane performance from her, hitting three 3-pointers in the game as she finished with a game-high 17 points. That was nearly half of her team's scoring, just from her, an incredible performance and one of the best of state title weekend.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='321207' first='Hannah' last='Dean'] - Dexter (2024)</h2>   <p>Hall-Dale certainly let it fly from three in the Class C final against Dexter, but the Tigers countered with a ferocious attack in the paint that led to baskets and trips to the foul line. [player_tooltip player_id='321207' first='Hannah' last='Dean'] was certainly close to the center of that, finishing with 12 points, half of them coming from free throws. She was one of four Dexter players with 3+ made free throws in the win, and what a big win it was.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cami Shields - Southern Aroostook (2024)</h2>   <p>If you're going to end your high school career, might as well end it with a bang. Cami Shields ended hers with an explosion, a 28-point performance to help guide Southern Aroostook to the Class D state title. Everything was working for her in a plethora of different ways, from inside-to-outside, the free throw line to beyond the arc. She was the engine behind a dominant performance and an 18-point win.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Madeline Hill - Upper Kennebec Valley (2025)</h2>   <p>A hot start and slim halftime lead gave Valley some significant hope, but a second half collapse unfortunately spelled the end of the line for the Cavaliers in a blowout loss against Southern Aroostook. Leading the charge for the Cavs was Madeline Hill, an impressive 13-point day with a pair of made three-pointers added to the scoresheet. She'll be back as an anchor of this team next season, something to watch out for.</p>

While the state championships for Maine high school girls basketball came at the beginning of the month, now is the perfect time to look back on them and talk about the top players and performances from this season's five state title games.