Julia Colby had waited long enough.

And thanks to her performance Saturday night, the Oxford Hills wait for its first girls’ basketball Gold Ball came to an end.

Colby scored a Class AA state-game record 34 points, including 14 straight in a second-half stretch, as the Vikings led Scarborough from the start in a 55-45 victory at Cross Insurance Arena.

“It feels good,” said Colby, who also had four steals. “Especially to do it with my teammates because we’re so close.”

The Vikings (20-2) got their transition game going early. Colby scored a pair of layups, Cecilia Dieterich set up Bailey Whitney for a layup, then Colby, after a steal, fed Dieterich for a layup to set the tone.

In the final minute of the first quarter, Cassidy Dumont scored on a putback, then after a Dieterich steal, delivered the ball behind her back to Colby for a layup and a 14-4 lead.

“Every time I got the ball off a turnover, I looked up and (Julia) was there,” Dieterich said. “Transition is how we get ahead on most teams. That worked again tonight.”

The Red Storm (19-3) gave the ball away 12 times in the first quarter and dug a hole.

“We got rattled to start,” said Coach Mike Giordano. “They got to our passes, then we made some really bad passes on top of that.”

Madison Blanche scored five quick points for Scarborough to start the second period, but the Red Storm added six more turnovers and Oxford Hills took a 23-12 halftime lead.

“Our goal was to turn them over,” Colby said. “They’re a guard-based team. We didn’t want to let them attack.”

When Whitney scored on a putback early in the third quarter, the Vikings led by 13, but back roared the Red Storm on an 11-2 run to pull within 29-25 on a Blanche 3.

But that’s as close as Scarborough got. A runner from Colby made it 34-26 heading to the fourth period.

There, Colby answered every charge, with her biggest shot coming with 3:16 left, a dagger of a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 46-37.

“(Julia’s) a great player,” Dieterich said. “It’s awesome to play with her because you can always count on her to make a big shot.”

“Jules had an amazing game,” added Vikings Coach Nate Pelletier. “That’s just who she is. She has ice water in her veins.”

Colby made five free throws down the stretch and Dumont (10 points) added four to set off a celebration more than four decades in the making.

“It’s been a community effort and it’s amazing for the community,” said Pelletier. “We’ll have some fun when we get back home.”

Scarborough got 16 points from Blanche and 14 from Couture in her final game, but 26 turnovers and the early deficit proved too much to overcome.

“I told the girls what a great ride it was and to reflect on that,” Giordano said. “Those kids gave me everything they had every day and that’s why we ended up here.

“We were ahead of schedule and we bring a lot of kids back next year with the chance to come back here, and we’ll probably see (Oxford Hills) if we do.”

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