The winter sports season is entering its most enjoyable phase, the postseason, and there will be a multitude of memories made in the days and weeks to come.

Basketball’s regular season culminates Thursday, a day after the girls’ hockey playoffs begin, and the big meets in other winter sports are getting closer as well.

Here’s an overview of how things stand and what’s to come:

Girls’ basketball

Don’t look now, but Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team has that championship look yet again.

The Stags, the reigning Class AA state champions, earned their biggest win to date last Tuesday when they avenged an earlier loss and downed visiting Oxford Hills, 51-43, handing the Vikings their first setback in the process. Cheverus was paced by junior standouts Maddie Fitzpatrick and Emma Lizotte who each had 15 points.

“It’s great to see all the hard work paying off,” said Fitzpatrick, who also had nine rebounds and six assists. “Our chemistry is really working. We just guarded the 3-point line. They only shot nine 3s and hit only three. One girl made seven last time. It was a huge difference. They can score at so many different levels. They’re really good moving the ball and they’re such a strong defensive team. I think we were a little unsure how to play them, but we realized what their weaknesses are and what our advantages are. That helped us win.”

“It’s really exciting,” said Lizotte, who also grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double and blocked four shots. “It’s a big win for our confidence. It was good to see us step up and play together. It was a dramatic change in our defensive plan. Last game, we played a 2-3 (zone) the entire game and this time we played man-to-man. It’s never comfortable against Oxford Hills. They have really good shooters, but we closed it out on defense.”

“It was a great environment,” added Stags coach Billy Goodman. “The crowd was into it. It was a playoff atmosphere. Both teams gave the crowd their money’s worth. I told the girls we needed 32 minutes to beat this team, not 28 or 30, and they focused and did it.”

Cheverus improved to 15-2 with the victory and was ranked second behind Bangor in the Class AA North Heal Points standings at press time heading into Thursday’s regular season finale at Windham.

“We respect Windham,” Goodman said. “That will be like a playoff game, then we’ll be ready for what’s next. We realize the North this year is very tough.”

Deering entered the week 3-13 and seventh in Class AA North following home losses to Windham (32-26) and Hampden Academy (54-29). Nyabhana Lia had 13 points against the Eagles and Maya Gayle scored 17 points in the loss to the Broncos. The Rams were at Portland Tuesday and close the regular season at Scarborough Thursday.

Portland was 2-14 and eighth in Class AA North after a 53-44 setback at Edward Little and a 61-28 home loss to Windham. Eliza Stein had 10 points in the loss to the Eagles, but the Bulldogs fell behind early and couldn’t rally.

“This is a team that doesn’t quit, which I tell them will pay dividends at some point, be it this year, next year or the year after,” said Portland coach Abby Hasson. “They stay positive and they stay together. We only have one kid who has played significant varsity minutes, but it’s a group that wants to work hard and get better.”

The Bulldogs were home versus Deering Tuesday and close the regular season at South Portland Thursday, as Hasson squares off against her mother, Red Riots coach Lynne Hasson.

“We can only control what we can control,” said Abby Hasson. “We’re still playing for that (final playoff) spot. We have two huge games next week. We’re excited for them. They’re winnable games.”

In Class C South, Waynflete was 5-11 and 12th after a 53-16 loss at Traip Academy and a 47-28 home victory over St. Dom’s. In the win, Lauren McNutt-Girouard had 11 points. The Flyers were at Poland Monday and close at home versus Traip Academy Wednesday.

The girls’ basketball postseason begins next week with the Class C preliminary round and the Class AA North quarterfinals on the home courts of the higher seeds.

Boys’ basketball

On the boys’ side, Portland was 12-4 and second to Oxford Hills in the Class AA North Heals after a 56-33 home win over Edward Little last week. Remijo Wani led the way with 18 points and Jeissey Khamis added 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. The Bulldogs went to rival Deering Tuesday and close at home versus South Portland Thursday (see our website for game story).

Cheverus was 12-5 and fourth in the region following a 59-58 setback at Oxford Hills and a 96-35 home win over Massabesic. In the loss, Silvano Ismail scored 30 points. Against the Mustangs, Ismail led the way with 29 points, while Gio St. Onge added 15, Leo McNabb had 13 and Jameson Fitzpatrick 11. The Stags close the regular season at home versus Windham Thursday.

Deering fell to 0-16 and ninth in Class AA North after losses last week at Windham (68-51) and Hampden Academy (73-50). The Rams, who last went winless in 1986-87, hosted Portland Tuesday and close at home versus Scarborough Thursday.

In Class C South, Waynflete was 9-7 and ninth following Thursday’s 43-38 home win over St. Dom’s. Matt Adey led the way with a dozen points and Ishan Reese added 11. The Flyers hosted Poland Monday and close at Traip Academy Wednesday.

The boys’ basketball postseason begins next week with the Class C preliminary round and the Class AA North quarterfinals on the home courts of the higher seeds.

Girls’ hockey

The girls’ hockey playoffs are set to begin Wednesday with the quarterfinals on the home ice of the higher seeds.

Cheverus will be the top seed in the South Region after a superb 15-3 regular season. The Stags closed with a 6-2 home win over Falmouth and a 5-2 setback at Penobscot. Cheverus earned a bye into the semifinals and will host either Friday or Saturday at Troubh Ice Arena.

The Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland co-op team finished the regular season 11-7 and third in the South following a 5-1 loss at Penobscot and wins over visiting Portland/Deering (8-2) and at Falmouth/Scarborough (6-2). Cape/Waynflete/SP will host a quarterfinal against a yet-to-be-determined foe, likely on Wednesday.

Portland/Deering was 3-14 and seventh in the South Region heading into Monday’s season finale at Yarmouth/Freeport. Last week, Portland/Deering lost at York (8-3), beat visiting Greely (8-4) and lost at Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland (8-2) and at home to Penobscot (9-0). In the win, Jane Flynn scored four goals and had two assists and Kate Martell finished with two goals. Goalie Erin Winship stopped 23 shots in the loss to Penobscot.

Looking ahead, the regional final is Wednesday of next week at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland.

The state game is Saturday, Feb. 18 in Portland.

Boys’ hockey

Boys’ hockey still has a couple of weeks to go in its regular season.

The Cheverus/Yarmouth co-op squad extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games after beating host Kennebunk (3-1), settling for a 3-3 home tie against reigning state champion Brunswick and downing host Greely (3-1) last week. Against the Dragons, David Swift scored twice, including the equalizer in the third period, Brian Connolly also had a goal and goalie Neal McQuarrie made 31 saves.

“The last three games (against Brunswick) we’ve played a total of probably 12 or 13 15-minute periods against each other,” said Cheverus/Yarmouth coach Dave St. Pierre. “It was a fun game to be a part of. (Brunswick’s) a a great team. They’re well-coached. They work hard. I thought we showed them we can play with them.”

Cheverus/Yarmouth (third in the Class B South Heals) goes to Leavitt Wednesday and hosts Messalonskee Saturday.

“We’re playing well, but we still have a lot of work to do,” St. Pierre said. “We have a lot of quality opponents in front of us. There are still areas where we can improve. We always want to play a tough schedule. We line up good opponents because it makes us playoff-ready. We want to be in tight games.”

The South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport co-op team was 6-7 and fifth in Class A following a 5-3 home loss to Edward Little and a 2-0 win at Bangor. Tobey Lappin scored twice in the loss. The squad was at Lewiston Monday and welcomes Marshwood Thursday.

Indoor track

The Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship meet will be contested Saturday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

The Class A state meet is Feb. 20 in Gorham.

Swimming

In the pool, in recent action, Deering/Portland swept Bonny Eagle, as the boys prevailed, 76-26, and the girls were victorious, 85-66.

Cheverus was swept by Yarmouth, as the boys lost, 46-30, and the girls were defeated, 67-20.

Waynflete’s boys and girls were second to Thornton Academy in a three-team meet which also included Biddeford. The boys had 50 points, while the Golden Trojans managed 88 and the Tigers had 20. In the girls’ competition, Waynflete finished with 71 points, while Thornton Academy had 111 and Biddeford finished with 10.

Southwesterns will be contested this weekend and the state meets are Feb. 20 and 21.

Skiing

Cheverus’ girls’ Alpine ski team was fifth at a 10-team league giant slalom meet last week, as Maddy Marcisso placed eighth individually with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 10.23 seconds.

The Stags boys didn’t score as a team, but Reis Stamaris was sixth individually in 1:05.64.

The Class A state meet begins Feb. 15.

The Nordic skiing state meet starts Feb. 22.

Wrestling

The Class A South wrestling regionals will be held Saturday in Kennebunk.

The Class A state meet is Saturday, Feb. 18 in Sanford.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.

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