Bailey Breen had the perfect motivation for her Oceanside High girls’ basketball teammates heading into the Class B South final Friday afternoon.

It was a video from last year’s regional title game, with Spruce Mountain celebrating after taking down the Mariners.

“I sent the video in our group chat yesterday,” she said, “and I said ‘You all had better get fired up, because I ain’t trying to feel this way again.'”

The postgame mood was different this time around. Breen scored 19 points, 13 in the second half, and top-seeded Oceanside avenged last year’s defeat with a 44-33 victory over third-seeded Spruce Mountain in the regional final at the Portland Expo.

The Mariners (21-0), who had to replace three starters from last year’s squad, reached their second state final in three years. They also got nine points from Aubrianna Hoose and Renee Ripley, and seven from freshman Grace Mackie.

Oceanside will play for the state title next Friday in Bangor against Old Town, which beat defending state champion Ellsworth in the North final.

Spruce Mountain, led by 12 points from Jaydn Pingree, finished 18-3.

“In the fourth quarter of the game last year, it stung to see the way we played. We were out of control,” said Breen, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. “We kept our composure this year.”

The teams were tied at 14 at halftime, but Oceanside went on a 14-2 run out of the break to gain the lead for good.

Spruce Mountain didn’t get within eight points the rest of the way.

“They really came out in the second half with a lot of energy and life to them,” Oceanside Coach Matt Breen said. “They competed for each other, which I was glad to see.”

Everyone contributed. Ripley started the decisive run with a 3-pointer, one of three for the game, and Mackie’s second 3-pointer early in the fourth made it 33-22. Matt Breen also praised senior forward Caitlyn Lamb for her play on both ends of the court.

“All the stuff she does doesn’t show up in the stat book,” he said. “She sets that important screen, she makes that important pass, she gets that rebound.”

That team-oriented approach showed up on the defensive side, where the Mariners underperformed last year while allowing Spruce Mountain to beat them from outside. This time, Oceanside had the answers. Aubrey Kachnovich, who hit five 3s and scored 22 points last year, was held to five points an no 3-pointers this time.

“Last year, we played (a 2-3 zone) and they torched us in it,” Matt Breen said. “We switched it up and went man. We wanted to run them off the 3-point line.”

A key part of that defense was Hoose, who also scored seven of her nine points in the second half.

“We thought of it as, when we come out (after the halftime break), it’s 0-0 at half because the game’s not over, and our first half wasn’t really (good),” she said. “We knew we needed to get on them and stop them from shooting 3s, because that’s pretty much all they had in the first half.”

Spruce Mountain got eight points from Avery Bessey, in addition to Jaydn Pingree’s output.

“They had some role players hit some shots,” Phoenix Coach Zach Keene said. “When you want to really focus on taking something specific away, you open up the possibility of other players getting in rhythm. … Today, they had them, and they made them.”

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