AUGUSTA - There have been times this season that the Oxford Hills girls' basketball team couldn't help but feel this year just wasn't meant to be.

Injury after injury seemed to constantly derail the season. Even Friday night, there were moments where Oxford Hills appeared destined for disappointment. There was an early deficit and another injury.

As constant as the adversity has been, so has the Viking resolve.

As difficult as the challenge continued to get, the more determined and harder Oxford Hills fought.

That was the case Friday night as the Vikings stunned Cony - again - and ended another Ram winning streak.Oxford Hills rallied from as many as 12 points down and won its first Eastern A championship with a 52-49 win at the Augusta Civic Center.

"When we had three starters out at one time, it felt like 'Why does everything bad have to happen to us?'" said senior guard Kari Pelletier. "But they all came back."

Despite the injuries there were times that the stars seemed aligned for the Vikings. Oxford Hills beat Cony on its home court, ending a winning streak that dated back nine years. Still, it was hard to see destiny shining down on them, when the season was clouded by injuries and question marks. Oxford Hills earned the fifth seed in Eastern Maine, narrowly avoiding the preliminary round. Had the Vikings been forced to play a prelim, they would have done so without two starters, Megan Joyce and Lindsay Fox. Fox was injured again Friday night but was walking fine after bruising her knee.

"Megan got cleared to play the day of our first game," said Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier. "It's amazing how things worked out. It seems like Friday when we played Bangor, everything starting moving our way. The pendulum started swinging and everybody started working and look what happened."

The Vikings got on a roll and rallied past the Rams. Cony had not lost an Eastern A tournament game since 2003 and had won four straight regional titles. Now it will be Oxford Hills that plays for the Class A state championship next Saturday at 3 p.m at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

"We had it in us," said Joyce, a sophomore center. "We wanted to make history in our school again. It's always been a goal for us."

Joyce finished with 15 points and Melanie Cloutier added 12 for the Vikings (15-6). Pelletier had 12 and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. She finished the tournament with 29 free throws, breaking the tourney mark of 27 set by Nokomis' Danielle Clark in 2001.

The championship win was such a new experience for the Vikings that Oxford Hills players didn't know what to do after the victory. Players gathered around one basket as players cut down the net. None realized that another ladder awaited them at the opposite end for the other net.

"We didn't really know what to do, but we figured it out," said Kari Pelletier.

That's what happen during the game as well. Cony's offense rolled early, and the Vikings struggled to keep pace. The deficit was 12 points early in the second thanks to 16 straight Cony points. The Vikings started to chip away at the lead and picked up its defensive intensity. When Cony (18-3) struggled offensively in the second half, the Vikings started to rally. The Rams turned the ball over 13 times in the second half, fueling the Vikings comeback.

"I told them that there are many teams that have been down to Cony and given up," said Nate Pelletier. "They don't have the energy to battle back. I told them 'You're not one of those team.'"

The Vikings believed him and were within 39-38 early in the fourth after a Cloutier three-pointer and a rebound by Joyce. Shelby Pelkey, who led the Rams with 22 points, answered every time the Vikings got close. She had a jumper and set up three other baskets in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings kept charging.

"We just kept chipping away at the score," said Kari Pelletier. "It kept getting easier and easier."

Two Kayla Belanger baskets off Pelkey feeds put the lead back to 45-40 with 3:05 left, but Cloutier scored and Fox hit a jumper with 1:54 left. After two Rachael Mack free throws, Lauren Brett hit a leaner around a defender in the paint to give the Vikings their first lead with 1:05 left.

"I got here and there was a wide open lane," said Brett, a junior forward. "She stepped in, and I was like 'Oh no.' I kept my patience and went up for it and hoped it would go in."

Cony retook the lead with 50 seconds left when Pelkey fed Mack off an inbounds pass. Oxford Hills came right back with a Joyce basket in the post with 30 seconds left.

"It was designed for Mel to hit a three," said Joyce. "She was covered. So she made a great pass inside. I bobbled it, and I didn't think I was going to be able to turn and make it, but I did."

Cony's hopes of answering were foiled when Brett intercepted a pass with 15 second left. Cony had another chance when Courtney Dufour was fouled with 13 seconds left. She missed the free throw, and the rebound went out of bounds off Mack's hands. It forced the Rams to foul Pelletier, who had already iced two tournament games with her foul shooting.

"I said 'Kari, you're getting the ball now,'" said Nate Pelletier. "There was not question about it."

Pelletier hit them both with five seconds left. Cony had one last try when Dufour went for a tying three from the left side. It hit the rim and bounced away.

"We knew we could do it," said Brett. "We just had to keep our confidence up and work hard."