The Valley Lady Cavaliers of Bingham sported game-altering defense for 32 minutes Saturday afternoon to win their first Class D state championship title at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Valley, the South regional champions, capitalized on fast-breaks stemming from their defense against North regional winners the Central Aroostook Panthers. The Cavaliers won 47-28.
Valley led 21-12 at halftime and continued to pour on the points out of the break, spearheaded by senior guard Madeline Hill. Valley outscored Central Aroostook by 10 points in the second half.
Hill was the highest-scoring player of the game with 16 points with teammate Liana Hartwell, a freshman guard, scoring 12 points to aid in the win.
The Lady Cavaliers were runner-ups last year in the state championship game and have made several appearances before then, never claiming the title until now.
“I think it really gave us experience,” Hill said. “It really drove us to come back and be better.”
