Once again, the Lady Seahawks are in contention for a Class C State basketball championship. Boothbay (8-2) is currently perched in second place in the Class C South Heal point standings. In previous years, Boothbay experienced few contested regular season games, and in the previous four seasons lost more tournament games than regular season contests. But the 2019-20 regular season has proven more challenging for Boothbay. The Lady Seahawks’ 23-game unbeaten streak came to an early end in the season’s second game on Dec. 9 in a 55-29 loss to Class B Mountain Valley.

Boothbay was without three key players: Josey Smith, Chloe Arsenault and Jaelyn Crocker. A better assessment of Boothbay’s strength in Class C South came against nemesis Monmouth Academy who owned three of the Lady Seahawks’ four losses in the past four years. The No. 3 Mustangs squeaked out a key 51-48 victory in Monmouth. A few nights later, Boothbay dealt No. 1 Winthrop its first loss of the season with a 51-49 road victory. Boothbay held a seven-point lead in the contest’s final two minutes, but Winthrop’s rally fell short in the final two seconds when the Ramblers were assessed a five-second throw-in violation.

A competitive Mountain Valley Conference schedule should prepare Boothbay for the regional tournament next month. “I really think we beat Winthrop because we lost to Monmouth,” Boothbay Coach Brian Blethen said. “Monmouth is a real gritty and aggressive team. They outrebounded us, and fought harder to gain possession of the 50-50 balls. We did a much better job against Winthrop which is something our team must focus on. If we rebound and battle for loose balls, we will be in contention. If we don’t, then any team can beat us.”

Winthrop has a more veteran roster with better shooters and Monmouth poses a threat with its pressure defense and “relentless pursuit of the ball,” according to Blethen. Last season, Boothbay was a strong favorite to win the regional championship. The Lady Seahawks finished No. 1 in the Heal points, won the Mountain Valley Conference championship, regional and state titles. In its 23 wins, Boothbay battled No. 8 Saint Dominic’s in a hard fought quarterfinal encounter and rallied from a nine-point deficit in the state game. 

But this season, the road to another Gold Ball is already a longer and more difficult path. Blethen believes his team is capable of competing for another state championship, but he said the entire team knew this summer, the journey would be a challenging one. “Everybody knew this is a new season and we would face different challenges. Knowing there are good teams out there makes the challenge even greater. And it’s a lot of fun competing against them.”

One area the Lady Seahawks may be better than last year is perimeter shooting. Boothbay had several players lining up and burying deep shots on Jan. 10 versus Wiscasset. Boothbay started strong with a 15-5 lead over the visiting Wolverines. Boothbay won 48-34 and all 13 players saw significant minutes throughout the game. The Lady Seahawks began this season with 14 players with seven desiginated for varsity and seven others swinging between varsity and junior varsity. But illnesses and injuries have put the junior varsity season on hold. Several games were cancelled as both Boothbay and other smaller Mountain Valley Conference members have struggled to have enough players available for varsity and junior varsity contests. 

So Boothbay playing Wiscasset (0-11) was an opportunity for younger players to receive much needed playing time. “I was proud how our players managed this game. It gave a lot of them a chance to play,” he said.