SOUTHWEST HARBOR — The Acadian Basketball Association seventh- and eighth-grade girls beat the Houlton Shiretowners 28-25 to win the junior high girls’ championship at the 20th annual Great Harbor Shootout.

And after nearly six years of playing against them, this is the first time the ABA girls have ever beaten the Shiretowners.

“And it was our last game together,” said Keeley McConomy after the game. “It literally took us six years but we finally came out on top.”

This same group of girls have been playing together since kindergarten and have had a strong rivalry against the Shiretowners since third- or fourth-grade travel ball, according to head coach Wyman Tapley.

When asked what was different this time, Samantha Farley attributed it to teamwork.

“We were together, we were strong and we had faith in our teammates,” she said.

During the championship game, the ABA team and the Shiretowners were tied at 24 with 3:34 left on the clock.

MDI pulled ahead on a layup by Keeley McConomy. Then with 25 seconds left, MDI’s Sierra Tapley was fouled and made both shots to seal the win.

“It’s a great way for them to finish as eighth-graders,” said Tapley. “And I believe a few of them will contribute sooner than later at the varsity level. I think four years from now, they will still be playing ball together.”

Former Mount Desert Island High School standout Megan Phelps gave the team a pep-talk before the championship game.

“She said to them, ‘You have worked hard for this and you know what to do,’” said Tapley. “‘Don’t overthink it, just go do it,’ and they did.”

Team members included Jennifer Clemens, Julianna Cleaves, Farley, Kirsten Dimauro, Gabby Link, McConomy, Kelsey Shaw, Eliza McGarr and Tapley.

Presque Isle beat Hampden 50-36 in the high school girls’ division.

MDI was knocked out of the tournament by Hampden in a high school girls’ division final. Hampden won 46-44.

The Ellsworth girls were eliminated by Bangor 47-42, as was Deer Isle, which lost to Bangor 50-20.

A total of 73 teams from across the state traveled to locations around Mount Desert Island, Trenton and Ellsworth for the 20th annual Great Harbor Shootout.

The tournament’s 130 games spanned five gyms and three days, with more than 3,000 players, coaches and fans participating.

As the traditional end-of-season tournament for Maine teams, the shootout is the first time high school boys and girls play without their senior teammates.

All proceeds from the weekend will go to the Harbor House Community Service Center’s youth sports programming.

“Thirteen or 14 years ago, I was begging teams to come down here for the Shootout,” said Scott Phelps, athletic director at Harbor House. “This year, I had to turn 13 or 14 teams away because they registered too late.”

Phelps credits the over 50 volunteers who helped keep the scorebooks, work concessions and manage a variety of other aspects of the tournament. He thanks all Harbor House sponsors and referees.

“This is a really important fund-raiser and an awesome tournament,” said Ingrid Kachmar, Harbor House’s executive director. “All of the players get to compete against teams they wouldn’t otherwise play against. And it can definitely raise the level of the game.”

As the biggest post-season tournament in the state, the Shootout attracts thousands to the island during one of the slowest economic times of the year, Kachmar points out.

“It provides an economic boost in a real way,” she said. “Hotels open, stores are full. It definitely brings business in. What a wonderful way to end the season.”

For more sports news, pick up a copy of the Mount Desert Islander.