It may sound trite, but there is only one way to describe Calais’ 61-47 victory over Schenck of East Millinocket at the Bangor Auditorium Saturday night for the Eastern Maine Class C schoolgirl basketball championship.

It was truly a team effort.

The top-ranked Blue Devils improved to 21-0 while collecting their second EM crown in three years. Defending state champ Schenck of East Millinocket, seeded second, finished at 18-3.

The Schenck Wolverines figured they would have to contain Tracy Mulholland, Calais’ senior leader and most potent offensive threat, to upend top-seeded Calais.

What they didn’t figure on was Mulholland’s teammates – most notably Jessica Clark, Andrea Leishman, and Andrea Gibson – more than making up for Mulholland’s reduced offense.

“I think Clark hurt us more than I thought she would. She shot real well from outside early,” said Schenck Coach Jay Brown.

Clark shot 4-for-6 from the field for 10 points. Leishman and Gibson each scored 12.

Schenck didn’t shut Mulholland down, but kept her from dominating the offense like she can. The senior center finished the game with 12 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, six blocks, and three steals.

“I knew that I had four other people out there who could score just as well as I could,” said Mulholland. “It was the type of night that was frustrating as an individual, but not as a team.”

Mulholland got into a bit of a groove early after Calais’ offense began to wake up with 1:30 left to play in the first quarter.

Before that point, it was all Schenck. The Wolverines charged out of the gate for an 11-3 lead six minutes into the game.

Calais began to shake off the cobwebs with a big 14-0 ran that began with a minute left in the first quarter and continued for the next three minutes. Five different players scored during the run.

The Calais run was keyed by aninspired rebounding effort which gave them second and third shots around the hoop.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” Brown said. “They went hard to the boards. They rebounded real well against us.”

That tenacious rebounding by Calais helped it forge ahead to a 29-20 halftime lead.

The game looked like it would get out of reach for Schenck as the Blue Devils picked up where they left off in the third quarter and increased their lead to 14 points with five minutes left in the quarter.

But the Wolverines lived up to their nickname and proved they had just as much fight left in them by crashing the boards even harder and turning the defensive pressure on Calais up a notch.

The result was a 16-3 run paced by sophomore forward Carrie Cram’s eight points. Schenck also drew several fouls that put Mulholland and Leishman in foul trouble with three each.

“We fouled incredible tonight. We gave up so many points on the foul line that were unnecessary,” Mulholland said.

Schenck’s run lasted the quarter’s last four minutes and narrowed Calais’ lead to a single point at 39-38.

Calais Coach Bob McShane rallied his girls between quarters and told them to start boxing out and playing smarter defense.

They must have listened because the Devils roared onto the court to begin a back-breaking 16-3 run that ate up six minutes and lasted through two Schenck timeouts.

The Blue Devils’ charge gave them a 14-point cushion they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Leishman led the run by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line and scoring eight points. Mulholland did not score in the final quarter.

“Tracy has been a big part of our offense all through the year, but everyone knows that anyone can step up on any given night. Tonight was just my night to do that,” said Leishman.

The Wolverines were led byCram’s 19-point scoring effort. Junior forward Keli Daigle scored 10. Junior center Melanie With grabbed 16 rebounds and sophomore forward Lori Cyr had 12 – 11 defensive.

Blue Devils 61, Wolverines 47

Calais girls Schenck

Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP

Dow 11 3 0 0 6 Chavarie 13 2 4 3 8

Clark 6 4 2 2 10 Rosebush 1 1 0 0 2

Bell 11 2 3 2 6 Cram 15 6 9 7 19

Murray 1 1 0 0 2 Daigle 7 4 2 2 10

Gibson 12 4 5 3 12 Bouchard 1 0 0 0 0

Mulholland 14 4 7 4 12 Stanley 0 0 0 0 0

Wheelock 0 0 0 0 0 Lyons 0 0 0 0 0

Johnson 2 0 2 1 1 Provenzano 1 0 0 0 0

Leishman 9 3 6 6 12 Faloon 0 0 0 0 0

Mayer 3 0 0 0 0

Cyr 1 1 1 0 2

Witham 7 1 4 4 6

Totals 66 21 25 18 61 Totals 48 15 22 16 47

Calais 11 29 39 61

Schenck 11 20 38 47

3-pt. goals: Calais (1-10): Dow 0-1, Clark 0-1, Bell 0-5, Gibson 1-3; Schenck (1-11): Chavarie 1-7, Cram 0-2, Daigle 0-1, Provenzano 0-1