It’s already been a banner year for the Leavitt girls’ basketball team, but the Hornets hope the fruits of their labor can bear far more in the coming weeks.

After winning the KVAC Class B title Saturday, the Leavitt girls have achieved their goal of winning a banner to adorn the sparse walls of their gym. Now as the second-ranked team in Western B, the Hornets just might not be done yet.

“I think the KVAC championship means something because of where our program has been and where we’re trying to get it to go,” said coach Tammy Anderson, whose team was just 1-17 two years ago. “The kids are pretty excited about it. We talked about the banner thing and that’s been a goal of the kids. Now we’ve gotten that goal taken care of.”

Leavitt (17-1)  won nine games and a prelim last year. The 17 wins this year surpass the 14-4 mark achieved in 1977.  The Hornets will host seventh-ranked Gray-New Gloucester (12-6) in the quarterfinals at the Portland Expo. After dropping down to Class B, the Hornets had high expectations for the season, but it wasn’t until getting through the first batch of games in their conference that Leavitt could see just how well they might fare this season.

“I think we knew we had the possibility,” said Anderson. “We just wanted to do well. I think our original goal was to seed pretty high and try to do well.”

Leavitt got a taste of playoff action last year in an Eastern A quarterfinal loss and now hope for a bigger bite in Western B. Playing a tough game against Winslow on Saturday and getting great efforts from unheralded players like Amanda Jordan and Sarah Frost showed Leavitt just what it will take to succeed in a tough tournament field ahead.

“The focus is on the fact that we’ve been here before and we were nervous and where did that get us?” said Anderson. “We’re trying to get them to enjoy the moment. We worked hard to get this far, and we have to go out and have fun and relax. It’s the same motto we’ve had all year. If someone is going to beat us, make them beat us and let’s not beat ourselves.”

Lisbon (14-4) and Mountain Valley (11-7)  both return to the Western B field. The Greyhounds’ 14 wins are
second only to the 15-3 record in 1984. Lisbon plays Lake Region in the
quarterfinals. The Falcons lost an abundance of talent from last year’s
15-3 club but return to the quarters to face second-seeded Greely.

In Western C, the tournament is expected to be wide open. Nothing might epitomize that more than the fact that two preseason favorites, Jay and Dirigo, are slated to play in the first round. It was a matchup that appeared likely just moments after the Cougars beat the Tigers in the regular season finale.

“That’s too bad because I’d like to save that one for last,” said Dirigo coach Reggie Weston, following his club’s 42-38 win over the Tigers. “You’ve got to play them all anyway.”

Dirigo (13-5) and Jay (12-6) will meet in the Western C quarterfinals.  The Cougars and Tigers split in the regular season and now one of them will go home after the first day.

“It’s a cat fight,” said Weston of how the Western C field shapes up. “I know we can beat anybody, but they all know they can beat anybody.”

The Cougars are entering the tourney in pretty good shape. Dirigo finished the season winning four of its last five games and three straight, including back-to-back wins over Mountain Valley and Jay. After playing well in a quarterfinal loss last year, the Cougars are excited about a return and could pose a threat in a wide-open tournament.

“They’re starting to click,” said Weston. “They’re getting all kinds of confidence right now. Hopefully, we can keep going.”

The defending Class C state champs from Jay had won four straight before losing to Madison for a battle for the top seed. The Tigers then had sub-par wins before losing to Dirigo in the finale.

“It’s disappointing,” said Jay coach Chris Bessey. “To lose the way we did at Madison and then barely get by Georges Valley and Carrabec and lose to Dirigo, we’re definitely not playing our best, which is disappointing.”

Of course, Jay limped to the finish last year with a bad loss to Mountain Valley. The Tigers then beat the Falcons in the MVC game and rolled through the tourney to the state title.

“If you’re peaking right now, sometimes you worry about the week-long break,” said Bessey. “If you’re not and you’re playing like we are, sometimes the break does you good.”

Also in Western C, Livermore Falls finished sixth overall and plays third-ranked Hall-Dale, a team the Andies didn’t play in the regular season. The 13-5 record follows a 9-9 record last year and prelim loss for the Andies. It’s the best record for the Andies since going 14-4 in 2006, a year Livermore Falls won its first quarterfinal since 1991. 

St. Dom’s (12-6) earned the seventh spot after its first year in the MVC and plays a familiar foe in Waynflete. The Flyers, a former WMC rival, eliminated the Saints in the quarterfinal last year.  Waynflete subsequently lost to Jay in the regional final.

In Eastern A, local teams Edward Little and Oxford Hills earned spots in the postseason but those two clubs were going in opposite directions. EL (13-5) won just once in its last five games. The Eddies will play Hampden in Friday’s quarterfinal, a team they beat 46-33 in December when EL still had Kirsten Prue in the lineup. She’s out for the year with a foot injury. First, EL gets to defend its KVAC title against unbeaten Skowhegan on Monday at 5 p.m. at Cony High School.

Oxford Hills, however, won its last eight straight to earn the eighth seed after a 1-4 start. The Vikings recovered after losing all-star center Megan Joyce and are playing their best basketball of the year. They’ll play Skowhegan on Friday, a team the Vikings lost to in last year’s semifinal but didn’t play in the regular season.

In Class D, Rangeley (12-6) also overcame a slow start, going 0-4. The Lakers won eight of its last nine games to earn the fourth seed in Western D. Rangeley will play Kents Hill in the quarterfinals, a team the Lakers beat twice 36-31 and 38-30.

Hebron (10-8) will make its third-ever trip to Augusta, where it has never won. It plays third-seeded Greenville.