A perfect season ended with a championship celebration back in March when Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team defeated Gorham in the Class AA state final. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald

Four months later, Cheverus’ girls’ basketball coach Billy Goodman still wears his championship ring.

It’s the only one of his five that he can’t, and won’t take off.

Because his 2023-24 Stags were simply unforgettable.

Seemingly hindered by the departure of three players, including one of the best in the state, prior to the school year, Cheverus didn’t just persevere, it was perfect, riding the brilliance of eventual Miss Maine Basketball Maddie Fitzpatrick, senior standout Ruth Boles and a solid supporting cast to a 21-0 record and the program’s second Gold Ball.

In light of what the Stags overcame and accomplished, they’re our selection for the 2024 Varsity Maine Girls’ Team of the Year.

“That team is so special to me,” said Goodman, who won three state titles at McAuley from 2012-14, led the Lions to 56 consecutive victories and also coached Cheverus to its first title in 2022. “We weren’t expected to win, but to win every game was amazing.”

After winning its first championship two years ago, the Stags nearly repeated in 2023, but let a 12-point fourth quarter lead slip away and lost to eventual champion Oxford Hills in double-overtime in the Class AA North Final.

As soon as the horn sounded on that one, Fitzpatrick committed to getting back in the gym and being ready for the next season, but Cheverus would have a dramatically different look by the time the 2023-24 campaign tipped off.

Post standout Emma Lizotte decided to transfer to Thornton Academy for her senior season and sophomores Jaelyn and Jenna Jensen transferred to Mt. Ararat.

As expected, Cheverus senior Maddie Fitzpatrick was the state’s best girls’ basketball player last winter. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

That left Fitzpatrick, thought by most to the be the best player in the state, a senior named Ruth Boles who had shown flashes of being a top player the year before, and a whole lot of question marks.

“No one really knows us,” said Fitzpatrick, back in December. “We’re just together right now and focused on ourselves. We don’t listen to all the noise. I think that we’re underrated.”

Not for long, as the questions were answered in the affirmative almost immediately, as Cheverus opened with a 20-point win at South Portland and then rolled in South Paris, beating host Oxford Hills, 76-48, a stunning early result.

“I thought we could be a special team when we played really well at Oxford Hills,” Billy Goodman said.

Four days later, the Stags beat visiting Thornton Academy in a highly-anticipated showdown, 53-40.

The wins kept coming, as Cheverus survived scares from visiting Scarborough and Oxford Hills in a second meeting and managed to run the table, going 18-0 with an average margin of victory of 23 points.

Along the way, Boles developed into an All-Star, senior Megan Dearborn stepped up as a reliable third scorer and deadly three-point shooter, while senior Olivia Conroy, junior Rachel Feeley, Anna Goodman (Billy Goodman’s daughter) and fellow sophomore Rachel LaSalle and freshmen Addison Jordan and Abby Kelly were superb role players, playing strong defense, grabbing timely rebounds and hitting occasional baskets.

“We had to change the way we played without Emma and without the Jensens as ball-handlers,” Billy Goodman said. “We had a mixture of seniors who did their jobs on offense and sophomores and juniors who knew their roles. It all came together. It was incredible to see Ruth and Maddie play the way they did all year and for Megan Dearborn and Anna and Rachel Feeley to do what they did. Abby (Kelly) and Addison (Jordan) stepped up as freshmen.

“We played one of the hardest schedules ever. We played Oxford Hills twice, Bangor twice, TA twice, Scarborough, South Portland. To go undefeated against that schedule wasn’t easy.

The fun continued in the postseason.

Senior Ruth Boles came up huge for the Stags, especially in the tournament. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald

After beating Lewiston, 57-35, in the Class AA North semifinals, Cheverus had to get past Oxford Hills one more time and managed to end the Vikings’ reign with Fitzpatrick playing only half the game due to foul trouble, but behind 20 points from Boles, the Stags prevailed, 48-38.

“Coach always tells me before the game, ‘Play like a champion,’” Boles said. “I just wanted to help the team.”

Gorham was the last team standing in the state final and Cheverus wouldn’t be denied. A Boles layup at the first quarter horn put the Stags ahead to stay and they gradually pulled away for a 38-24 victory, as Feeley and Jordan held Rams’ star Ellie Gay to just two field goals, Boles (17 points) paced the offense and Fitzpatrick (14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals) did a little of everything.

“We had the confidence we could do something like this,” said Fitzpatrick, who would go on to be named Miss Maine Basketball and Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year. “If you don’t have the confidence, you won’t be able to achieve it.”

“The girls liked our style of play and we added to it for playoffs,” Billy Goodman said. “They were amazing executing it. Every championship has been special, but Maddie, Ruth and Megan mean so much to me and having my daughter on the team was just incredible.”

A perfect record, a happy family and a Gold Ball.

Any wonder why Billy Goodman still wears the ring?

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