Maddie Fitzpatrick of Cheverus carries the trophy as her teammates reach out to touch it after the Stags won the Class AA girls’ basketball state championship against Gorham on March 2. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Four months later, Billy Goodman still wears his championship ring.

It’s the only one of his five that the Cheverus girls’ basketball coach can’t, and won’t take off.

His 2023-24 Stags were simply unforgettable.

Despite the departure of three prominent players, including one of the best in the state, prior to the school year, the Stags didn’t just persevere. They were perfect, riding the brilliance of Miss Maine Basketball winner Maddie Fitzpatrick, senior standout Ruth Boles and a solid supporting cast to a 21-0 record and the program’s second Gold Ball.

In light of what the Stags overcame and accomplished, they’re our selection for the 2024 Varsity Maine Girls’ Team of the Year.

“That team is so special to me,” said Goodman, who won three state titles at McAuley from 2012-14, led that program to 56 consecutive victories, and also coached Cheverus to its first championship in 2022. “We weren’t expected to win, but to win every game was amazing.”

After winning its first Class AA championship two years ago, the Stags nearly repeated in 2023, but they let a 12-point, fourth quarter-lead slip away in the North final and lost to eventual champion Oxford Hills in double-overtime.

As soon as the horn sounded on that one, Fitzpatrick committed to getting back into the gym and being ready for the next season. Her team, though, would have a dramatically different look by the time the 2023-24 campaign tipped off. Post standout Emma Lizotte decided to transfer to Thornton Academy for her senior season, and sophomores Jaelyn and Jenna Jensen transferred to Mt. Ararat.

That left Fitzpatrick – thought by most to the be the best player in the state – and Ruth Boles, who had shown flashes of being a top player the year before, along with a whole lot of question marks.

“No one really knows us,” Fitzpatrick said back in December. “We’re just together right now and focused on ourselves. We don’t listen to all the noise. I think that we’re underrated.”

Rachel Feeley of Cheverus holds her hands over her mouth in disbelief after her team won the Class AA state title. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Not for long, as the questions were answered almost immediately when Cheverus opened with a 20-point win at South Portland and then picked up another road win at Oxford Hills, 76-48 – a stunning early result.

“I thought we could be a special team when we played really well at Oxford Hills,” Goodman said.

Four days later, the Stags beat visiting Thornton Academy in a highly-anticipated showdown, 53-40.

The wins kept coming, as Cheverus survived scares from visiting Scarborough and Oxford Hills in a second meeting and managed to run the table, going 18-0 with an average victory margin of 23 points.

Along the way, Boles developed into an all-star, senior Megan Dearborn stepped up as a reliable third scorer and deadly 3-point shooter, and senior Olivia Conroy, junior Rachel Feeley, sophomores Anna Goodman and Rachel LaSalle, and freshmen Addison Jordan and Abby Kelly were superb role players, playing strong defense, grabbing timely rebounds and hitting occasional baskets.

“We had to change the way we played without Emma and without the Jensens as ball-handlers,” Billy Goodman said. “We had a mixture of seniors who did their jobs on offense, and sophomores and juniors who knew their roles. It all came together. It was incredible to see Ruth and Maddie play the way they did all year and for Megan Dearborn and Anna and Rachel Feeley to do what they did. Abby (Kelly) and Addison (Jordan) stepped up as freshmen.

“We played one of the hardest schedules ever. We played Oxford Hills twice, Bangor twice, TA twice, Scarborough, South Portland. To go undefeated against that schedule wasn’t easy.

The fun continued in the postseason.

After beating Lewiston, 57-35, in the Class AA North semifinals, Cheverus had to get past Oxford Hills one more time. Fitzpatrick played only half the game because of foul trouble, but behind 20 points from Boles, the Stags prevailed, 48-38.

“Coach always tells me before the game, ‘Play like a champion,’” Boles said. “I just wanted to help the team.”

Gorham was the last obstacle in the state final, and Cheverus wouldn’t be denied. A Boles layup at the first-quarter horn put the Stags ahead to stay, and they gradually pulled away for a 38-24 victory, as Feeley and Jordan held Rams star Ellie Gay to just two field goals. Boles (17 points) paced the offense and Fitzpatrick (14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals) did a little of everything.

“We had the confidence we could do something like this,” said Fitzpatrick, who was named Varsity Maine Player of the Year, Miss Maine Basketball and Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year. “If you don’t have the confidence, you won’t be able to achieve it.”

“The girls liked our style of play and we added to it for the playoffs,” Billy Goodman said. “They were amazing executing it. Every championship has been special, but Maddie, Ruth and Megan mean so much to me, and having my daughter on the team was just incredible.”

A perfect record, a happy family, and a Gold Ball.

Any wonder why Billy Goodman still wears the ring?