AUGUSTA -- It's been a long time since the Vinalhaven girls basketball team could call itself regional champions. In fact, it hasn't happened since the 1984 season, according to Don Shields, Midcoast's basketball play-by-play personality for 105.5 FRANK FM.
The Lady Vikings (17-4), the number two seed in the south side of the bracket, toppled fifth seeded Forest Hills (12-9) 61-45 in Augusta on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Top scorers for Vinalhaven, according to Shields, included:
Ashlyn Littlefield (18 points)
Gilleyanne Davis-Oakes (15 points, 13 rebounds)
Paige Dennison (10 points)
Deja Doughty (eight points, 11 assists, seven rebounds).
In the playoffs, Vinalhaven knocked off Highview 71-37 in the quarterfinals before defeating Temple 66-49 in the regional semifinals.
The Lady Vikings will challenge Shead for the Class D State Championship on Saturday, Mar. 4, at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Tip-off will be at 1:05 p.m.
The squad received a police escort from the Rockland Police Department as well as members of the Knox County Sheriff's Department and Maine State Troopers before they boarded the ferry back to the island.