Five months after winning a Gold Ball, the Boothbay Lady Seahawks have another jewel to put in their basketball champion’s crown. Boothbay won the Western Division Championship during the Gold Rush high school basketball weekend July 12-14 at Colby College in Waterville. The camp had 47 teams from Maine, Canada and out of state competing in four divisions: East, West, North and Central.

The camp’s second toughest division was the west. Over the weekend, Boothbay played in 15 “minigames” against some familiar and unfamiliar foes. Some opponents included Oxford Hills, Brunswick, Dexter and Lincoln Academy. In division playoffs, Boothbay outlasted Riverview, a Canadian team, in the first round. Twice Boothbay faced a second half deficit, but rebounded to advance in the single elimination tournament. 

“We had some problems stopping their penetration, but our team does a  nice job of keeping their composure,” Boothbay coach Brian Blethen said. “Each time up and down the court, they do their job. This weekend, they stayed the course and displayed their discipline and showed they could withstand a run.”

Boothbay advanced in the tournament by posting victories over Medomak Valley and Mountain Valley before defeating Saint Dominic’s Academy in the final. Blethen brought 11 girls to the Gold Rush camp. This summer, 15 different players have participated in bi-weekly workouts. The team is also scrimmaging Medomak Valley on a regular basis.  

But the Gold Rush camp was a special opportunity for the team to bond with some new players. The Lady Seahawks are losing two starters from last season’s championship team and gaining underclassmen new to the program and junior Rachel Gentry who is returning to the program after a two-year absence. “I love that the girls love coming to this camp,” Blethen said. “It brings them together and starts building team chemistry. This is a different team than last year’s. And the Gold Rush camp is well-run and gives us a chance to build that chemistry.”

Boothbay completes the summer basketball season with another weekend tournament. Boothbay hosts the Lobster Jam tournament which has 16 high school teams playing a round robin format followed by two playoff games. The tournament runs July 26-27 at Boothbay Region High School.