McAuley graduates three seniors from its girls’ basketball Class A championship squad and should be right in the middle of the championship race again in 2012, if not the favorite, with the likes of Alexa Coulombe, Allie Clement, Sadie Dipierro and Hannah Cooke back as starters.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Clement. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re ready to come back and fight to defend our state title.”

Coulombe said they’ll be ready.

“I think people were aiming for us this season,” she said. “Like coach said, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about our team. It’s how we work, how we play together and how we get along.”

FAMILIAR FEELING: Amy Vachon, the first-year coach of McAuley, won two Class A state championships while playing for her father Paul at Cony.

“This (feeling) is very different but great,” she said. “I’m just so happy for the girls. It’s about them, I’m just so happy for them.”

SENIOR MOMENT: Olivia Porch, a senior forward for McAuley, held on to the Gold Ball as tight as she could as she walked through the Cheverus fans after the game.

“I passed it around a little,” she said. “This means everything to us. I really can’t explain it in words. We worked so hard for it and we stayed together.”

Porch didn’t play much for the Lions. But she, along with guard Kayla Daigle, were as valuable as forward Rebecca Knight, who led the team in scoring and is a finalist for Miss Maine Basketball.

“Those kids, our three seniors, have just been phenomenal,” said Vachon. “Becca gets most of the headlines and deservedly so. But Kayla Daigle and Olivia Porch, if you want to meet two teammates, they’re perfect.

“They didn’t care if they played a minute or didn’t play at all. They were there for their teammates.”

BENCH BOOST: Cam Olson, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, came off the bench to give Cheverus a boost in the second half against Bangor in the Class A state championship game.

Olson scored seven points. Cheverus altered its lineup in the third quarter, looking for momentum. Olson gave the Stags another big body and strong defender. Griffin Brady (22 points) was moved to center and Connor O’Neil took over at point guard.

Olson’s first basket late in the third quarter broke a 29-29 tie. He scored on a layup to give his team a 34-31 lead after three quarters. Olson completed a 3-point play to open the fourth quarter, and posed for the Cheverus student section.

That gave the Stags a six-point lead, the first of two such leads early in the fourth quarter, their biggest of the game.

Though Bangor rallied and pulled away at the end for a 58-49 win, Olson’s output was especially impressive for a player who didn’t play in the regional final against Bonny Eagle.

“Cam was a major factor for us,” said Coach Bob Brown.

“I didn’t play him in the Western Maine final because he wasn’t playing well, but he had three good practices. The good thing is that he’s a junior”.

While it was a disappointing end to the season and denied the Stags a perfect record, the future is still bright.

Starters Louie DiStasio and Matt Cimino, both juniors, are back along with Olson and 6-foot-7 reserve Shawn Grover, another junior, who saw extensive time during the season and the tournament.

Another player back is junior guard James Kapothanasis, who missed the game because of a broken bone in his foot suffered in practice last week.

Kapothanasis had come on strong late in the season.

“I planned on using James in the game,” said Brown.

“He would have given Louie DiStasio a break in the game. I think you’re going to write some things about him next season,” Brown said.

BIG BANG: Bangor Coach Roger Reed is now 8 for 10 in Class A state title games. Reed first won a state title as Bangor coach in 1993 over South Portland. The year before, Bangor lost to the Red Riots in five overtimes.

Reed added titles in 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007 and again on Saturday. Reed’s other loss was in 2008 to Cheverus.

Reed could face a rebuilding season for the 2011-12 season as four of his five starters are seniors. The only returning starter is 6-foot-6 junior center Pat Stewart, who scored 10 points Saturday.

The rebuilding process may not be that difficult, though, as Bangor’s feeder system is well established. The school has a long history of unbeaten junior varsity teams.

NEHS SWIMMING: Greely High led an impressive Maine showing at the New England High School Swimming Championship meet Saturday at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

Sophomore Sarah Easterling was part of three record-setting performances. She lowered the New England record to 59.79 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke to go along with her victory in the 200 individual medley.

Easterling also was part of Greely’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays that broke New England records. She swam the opening leg of the longer relay, followed by junior Katie Whittum, senior Megan Stroud and junior Sara Schad as the Rangers finished in 3 minutes, 40.53 seconds, which is .08 under what the same quartet swam in the Class B preliminaries last month to set a state record.

Schad led off the 200 free relay, followed by Whittum, Easterling and Stroud. They finished in 1:42.35 to get the New England mark.

Greely’s boys took home a pair of regional titles.

Senior Ian Mecray won the 50 freestyle in 22.69 seconds and teamed with junior Dan Spencer, freshman Jon Dunnett and senior Pater Pacent to win the 200 free relay.

Other New England champions from Maine were Windham senior Nathan Paluso (200 IM), Massabesic junior Tyler Wright (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke), Waterville sophomore Mody Gad (100 and 200 free), Messalonskee sophomore Arthur Conover (500 free) and Edward Little junior Melissa Paione (100 breaststroke).

Victorious relay teams from Maine included Windham’s Paluso, Alexander Gilvey, Nicholas Sundquist and Lance Webster in both the 200 medley (1:42.59) and the 400 free (3:19.54) and Messalonskee’s Lindsey Prelgovisk, Sam Mathieu, Amanda Joy and Sam Briggs in the 200 medley. The Messalonskee time of 1:54.34 was a New England record.

NORDIC SKIING: Twenty two boys and 23 girls earned berths Saturday on the Maine Nordic team that will compete in the Eastern High School Championships March 18-21 at Black Mountain in Rumford.

Black Mountain also hosted Saturday’s qualifying races, one freestyle and one classical. Fryeburg Academy sophomore Silas Eastman was the top male qualifier with his brother, Seth, fourth.

Molly Siegel of Gould Academy in Bethel was the first schoolgirl qualifier. Falmouth senior Sarah Abramson was second.

— Staff Writers Mike Lowe, Tom Chard, and Glenn Jordan contributed to this report.