Liana Hartwell, center, and her Valley teammates celebrate Saturday after beating Central Aroostook to win the Class D girls basketball state championship in Bangor. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

BANGOR — For each of the last four seasons, it seemed like the Valley girls basketball team was inching closer and closer to the program’s first state championship.

On Saturday afternoon, the Cavaliers finally accomplished their goal.

Valley cruised from start to finish in the Class D final against Central Aroostook, building an early lead and never looking back in a 48-28 victory at Cross Insurance Center. It’s the first Gold Ball for Valley, which fell 60-42 to Southern Aroostook in the state final last year.

Guards Madeline Hill and Liana Hartwell each scored 14 points for the Cavaliers (22-0), while Kirsten Bigelow added 10.

“It feels amazing,” Hill said. “I’m glad we were the first ones to (win a Class D title in program history), I think we deserved it, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else, really.”

“Everything (this season) was geared toward getting back to this game,” said Valley coach Gordon Hartwell. “We practiced against the 1-3-1 (zone) and the press. We knew a lot of what (Central Aroostook) did and what they wanted to do. We tried to negate as much as possible. But the girls bought into it, like they have all year. And they’re a real tough bunch.”

Lilly Burtt led Central Aroostook (19-3) with 13 points.

Up 9-5 after the first quarter, the Cavaliers found some breathing room with an 8-0 run in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 21-12 lead. Valley broke further away with another 8-0 run in the third quarter and went into the fourth with a 31-20 advantage.

“It definitely was a slow start, we missed a few of our shots (in the first quarter),” Hill said. “But we made sure to keep our heads in it.”

“In the first half, we couldn’t make a layup,” Gordon Hartwell said. “I was dying. I’m on the sidelines going, ‘Yeesh, make a layup.’ Eventually, I knew the easier (layups) would fall, and that’s what happened.”

Hill and Hartwell paced the Valley offense, particularly in the second half. But the Cavaliers dominated on the boards. Forward Brianna Mills had 10 rebounds, while Rylee Hart and Liana Hartwell each grabbed five rebounds.

“Getting on the boards wins games,” Bigelow said. “It was the little things that win games.”

Central Aroostook fought throughout the game, paced by Burtt, who knocked down 3-pointers in the second and third quarters to bring some life to the Panthers’ offense. But Valley stayed in control, and outscored the Panthers by a 17-8 margin in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“We just said (before the game) that we want (Valley) in the 40s or 50s (for points) and we did that defensively, and I’m proud of the girls’ efforts for that,” Central Aroostook coach Cody Tompkins said. “Along with how (Valley) is good offensively, they’re also good defensively and do well with transition basketball. Credit to them, they’re a tough team, and they earned it today.

“I’m proud of my girls. We gave it everything we had as far as effort goes, and we were prepared as well as we could have.”

Valley had gone one step further in the Class D tournament in recent years, going to the South semifinals in 2022, the regional final in 2023 and the state final last year. Saturday was the fourth state championship game appearance for the Cavaliers.

“It’s kind of a relief,” Bigelow said. “We all knew we could do something great, and we knew that this year we could do it.”

“Once you get over the hump and kick through the ceiling, I’m not saying that it’s not difficult, but at least there’s a belief (in winning a state title), because you’ve got (an example) in the trophy case,” Gordon Hartwell said. “I’m glad they’ve done it, and now we’re going back to work, because (winning again) is now more of an attainable goal.”