AUGUSTA — Top-seeded Oxford Hills sank all nine of its free throws in overtime to capture the Class AA North girls’ basketball championship Friday night with a 46-41 win against No. 3 Deering at the Augusta Civic Center.

Jadah Adams, a sophomore center, and Julia Colby, a freshman guard, scored 13 points apiece to lead the Vikings (19-1) to their first regional final since they played for the Class A championship three years ago.

Deering’s Tasia Titherington, a senior guard who led all scorers with 21 points, received the Red McMann Award as the regional’s most valuable player.

The Vikings will play defending state champion Gorham (20-0) next Saturday night in Augusta.

“(Deering) battled all year and I’m just happy we played them tough,” Oxford Hills Coach Nate Pelletier said. “(If we) play them 10 times, we may win five. We just got lucky twice with them.”

In their regular-season meeting, Oxford Hills won 37-34 when Colby’s shot from midcourt beat the final buzzer.

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“We played them tough during the regular season,” Deering Coach Mike Murphy said. “Both teams don’t give an inch, obviously. I’m proud as hell of the effort we had.”

The Vikings built a 16-7 first-quarter lead, mainly on the inside play of Adams. She scored their first 10 points and dished off to Colby after an offensive rebound for a 3-pointer that made it 15-5.

Deering rallied in the second quarter, however, closing to within three points. Titherington led the charge by sinking 7 of 9 free throws and driving the left baseline for a hoop with less than a minute left in the first half to cut the deficit to 21-18.

Adams, meanwhile, was assessed a technical foul and a blocking foul with 1:44 left in the half. Saddled with three fouls, she sat out the rest of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half.

Deering opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run to move into a 27-23 lead. Titherington then completed a three-point play to make it 30-24, but Maighread Laliberte cashed in a rebound and Erin Eastman hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, leaving Deering with a 30-29 lead.

The teams combined for only seven points in the fourth quarter, when Oxford Hills took a lot of time off the clock by running a delay offense.

The Vikings turned the ball over twice, and one of those turnovers led to a fast-break basket by Mandy Mastropasqua that tied the score at 33-33 with 1:40 left. Deering missed two hurried shots in the final 10 seconds of regulation.

Adams, who hadn’t scored a point since the first quarter, completed a three-point play in overtime to snap a 35-35 tie and give the Vikings the lead for good.


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