AUGUSTA – For most Maine schoolgirl basketball players, it would have been the most unenviable of challenges – trying to contain McDonald’s All-American Ashley Cimino.

For the unflappable Rachael Mack, it was merely part of her job, and a job well done.

The junior center limited the Stanford-bound McAuley of Portland star to seven points on 3 of 11 shooting Saturday, and that defensive effort sparked Cony High of Augusta to a 46-41 victory over the Lions in the Class A girls basketball state final at the Augusta Civic Center.

The title-game victory was the second in three years for Cony over McAuley, and the seventh gold ball overall during Paul Vachon’s more than two decades as the Rams’ head coach.

But unlike a succession of guard-oriented teams that led Cony to most of its earlier titles, this one featured the inside play of Mack and seniors Kristi Violette and Cassie Cooper.

The 6-foot-2 Mack sought to force the 6-3 Cimino to go to her left, and with fellow defenders sagging into the middle when possible to help out, the McAuley center was unable to build any offensive momentum.

“[Rachael] said during the week, ‘Am I gonna get any help?'” said Vachon, “and I said, ‘No, you’re not going to get any help, you have to do it alone. If you can’t do it alone, we’ll have to try something different later.’

“But if you give Rachael a task, she’s going to go out and give it her best effort, and tonight was one of her best games defensively she’s played. She’s a good defensive player.”

Cony (20-2) also benefited from McAuley’s difficulty in generating offense elsewhere. The Lions made just 2 of 16 3-point shots, and shot just 34 percent (17 of 50) overall.

“[Ashley] didn’t have a great game, but when we’re making some of those shots we were missing at point-blank range, and when we’re making some of those 3s, it becomes a lot easier for her,” said McAuley coach Wil Smith. “When we’re not making those, it becomes difficult when you get two or three people on her.”

Abby Wentworth led 20-2 McAuley with 11 points and six rebounds, but no other Lion scored more than seven points.

“Coach said if we just play behind Cimino she was going to get her 20, but we needed to shut down everyone else,” said Mack.

While Mack had the key defensive assignment, Cooper contributed her all-around game and Violette was a dominant rebounding presence for Cony.

The Rams outrebounded McAuley 41-23, with Violette grabbing 21 rebounds to go with a game-high 12 points.

“She’s relentless,” said Vachon. “I’ve said it all year long. She’s the best rebounder I’ve ever, ever coached, and the stats show that. She’s relentless on the boards.”

Cooper, who missed the final 11 games of the regular season due to a high ankle sprain, added nine points and some key ballhandling as the Rams protected a lead that grew to 10 thanks to six straight points by Mack midway through the final period.

“We knew dribbling wasn’t the way to [control the clock],” said Cooper, who will play at Dartmouth next year. “We knew as long as we penetrated and dished off we’d get wide open layups and it seemed to work.”

The Rams never trailed after Cooper’s three-point play gave the Eastern Maine champions a 15-12 lead midway through the second quarter.

But McAuley hung around thanks to its own solid defense, and when Cimino scored from the post and Morghan McAleney followed with a 15-footer early in the fourth quarter, the Lions were within 35-31.

But a high-low feed from Violette to Mack produced a momentum-quieting layup, and Mack followed with two free throws and then a back-breaking jumper from the key that restored the Rams to a 41-31 cushion with 3:35 remaining.

“I was open, so I just took the shot,” said Mack. “I think just our whole intensity coming out in the fourth quarter [was the key]. We saw it and we wanted it.”

McAleney countered with a three-point play to cut the gap to seven, but Cooper then orchestrated a lengthy Cony possession and scored after following in her own miss with 1:43 left.

“Our plan was to come out and push them in the second half,” said Smith, “but they had a little more in the gas tank than we did and they found the right person and made their shots. We actually found the right people, too, but we didn’t make shots.

“The best team won today. Good shots were few and far between for both teams, but they made the ones they got.”

RAMS 46, LIONS 41

McAuley (20-2) Cony (20-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Oliver 1 7 0 0 3 Pelkey 2 4 6

Rubinoff 0 0 0 0 0 Cheever 0 0 0

Viola 3 3 0 0 7 Hall 0 0 0

Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 Golden 0 0 0

Berry 0 0 0 0 0 Hopkins 0 0 1

Wood 0 10 2 2 2 A. Pratt 0 0 0

Wentworth 5 7 1 1 11 Belanger 0 0

K. Cimino 1 2 0 0 2 Cooper 3 12 9

True 0 0 0 0 0 Arbour 2 6 0 5

Jeffrey 0 0 0 0 0 Mack 4 8 11

A. Cimino 3 11 1 3 7 H. Pratt 0 2

McAleney 3 9 1 1 7 Violette 4 22 4 7 12

Delude 1 1 0 0 2

Totals 17 50 5 7 41 Totals 15 52 14 20 46

McAuley 8 20 27 41

Cony 12 23 35 46

3-pt. goals – McAuley (2-16): Viola 1-1, Oliver 1-6, Wood 0-4, A. Cimino 0-5; Cony (2-4): Pelkey 1-1, Arbour 1-2, Cooper 0-1