Southern Aroostook’s Callie Russell, 52, and Madison Russell, 15, carry the Golden Ball trophy as they celebrate after the Warriors beat Seacoast Christian 68-30 to win the Class D girls’ basketball state championship on Monday in Bangor. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

BANGOR — The 2022-2023 season ended with yet another Gold Ball for the Southern Aroostook girls basketball team.

The Warriors parlayed a 30-0 run between the first and second quarters into a 68-30 victory ver Seacoast Christian in the Class D final Monday night at the Cross Insurance Center. It’s the second straight title and the fourth in the last five seasons for Southern Aroostook.

The game was a rematch of last year’s Class D championship, which Southern Aroostook won 58-18.

Madison Russell scored 19 points for the Warriors, who finished 19-3. Cami Shields added 17 points.

“It’s been a long year for sure,” Russell said. “We went through some adversity, but I think in the long run it helped us and we got to win the Gold Ball.”

Seacoast Christian finished 12-10. Breckyn Winship led the Guardians with 16 points.

Southern Aroostook’s Jazmyn Ellingwood (23) and Olivia Ellingwood (5) join in the celebration with teammates after they beat Seacoast Christian in the Class D girls basketball final Monday night at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. (Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentine

The Warriors and Guardians traded leads early. But Southern Aroostook started its 30-o run midway through the first and never looked back. Russell scored 10 of her 19 points during the run, while Shields added 11 of her 17 points during the stretch.

“Coming into the week, we knew it’d be a different game than last year,” Russell said. “And it was. They stuck with us for a little bit and gave us a run for our money for the first few minutes. But then we came out and our shots started falling.”

It’s the fifth straight Class D final appearance for the Warriors, with their only blemish coming in a 42-38 loss to Greenville in the 2020 state final.