PORTLAND – They upset Bangor. They stunned Lawrence. They shocked Cony.

But Monday night, Oxford Hills could only put a scare into the Deering Rams.

Deering opened the lead in the first quarter and held off the Vikings comeback hopes in a 55-43 Class A state championship win at the Cumberland County Civic Center. It was the second state title for Deering this decade, who won in 2004.

“This team is a great team,” said Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier. “Obviously, they’re the best team in the state. You don’t want to get into a hole against this team.

“Even though we were down, I thought we could battle back. It had nothing to do with their effort. They worked their butts off the whole game just like I asked.”

The Vikings (15-7) were going for their first state championship, but had to overcome a quick, athletic and determined Deering club. Like they did they against Cony in the Eastern final, the Vikings fell behind early. Oxford Hills had seven turnovers in the first quarter and 11 in the first half. The Vikings shot just 5-for-15 in the opening half and went over three minutes at one point without a basket.

Freshman Kayla Burchill led the Rams with 14 points, 10 coming in the second half. Diana Manduca and Nicole Garland each added 11.

“She could potentially lead us in scoring every night,” said Deering coach Mike D’Andrea of Burchill. “Kayla will be the first one to give credit to her teammates because they’re the one’s that will get her the ball. I was happy for Kayla because she didn’t have a great Western Maine final. I think she’ll enjoy tonight very much.”

The Vikings got 15 from Pelletier and nine from Megan Joyce.

Deering finished the first quarter with an 11-1 run and shot 7-for-12 to start the game. Manduca put an exclamation point on the surge with a jumper off an inbounds pass and a 3-pointer, on which she was hit after the shot and turned into a four-point play and 20-8 lead.

Deering made it eight straight when Stefanie Saavedra scored off a steal to open the second. The Vikings got a 3-pointer by Pelletier to make it 22-11, but the Rams scored seven straight to build the largest lead of the half. Garland scored in the paint and followed that with a 3-pointer. Manduca added a jumper for a 29-11 lead with 3:15 left.

Oxford Hills (15-7) 43

Pelletier 4-6-15, Fox 1-0-2, Brett 2-1-6, Hanley, Durgin 1-2-4, Martin 2-0-4, Cloutier 1-0-3, Joyce 3-3-9

Deering (20-2) 55

Ruhlin 2-0-4, Manduca 4-2-11, M. Apon 2-0-4, Lewis 0-1-1, Garland 3-3-11, K. Saavedra, S. Saavedra 1-0-2, Burchill 3-7-14, Ramonas 3-2-8

3-pt. goals: Pelletier, Brett, Cloutier; Manduca, Garland 2, Burchill

Oxford Hills 8 17 26 43

Deering 20 29 40 55