BANGOR -- Like all good coaches, Waterville's Ted Rioux pays no attention to his team's winning streak.
The Purple Panthers ran the streak to 43 with their 60-40 win Saturday against Mattanawcook for the Eastern Maine Class B championship.
"It comes up every now and again, but for the most part we do not talk about it at all," Rioux said. "What we talk about is possession by possession."
Rioux's team can make it 44 in a row and win its second straight state championship next Saturday against Lake Region. The streak, unofficially, stands at 45 as far as the Panthers are concerned, because they include the two Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B championship games.
Rioux may not be talking about the streak, but his players are.
"Surprisingly, we do talk about it," Waterville senior Sarah Given said. "We haven't been jinxed yet, knock on wood."
The Panthers will knock on wood and avoid black cats and walking under ladders, anything to help the streak.
"I'm very superstitious," junior point guard Stephanie Whitten said. "I have to sit in the same seat (on the bus), I have to listen to the same music, I use the same makeup, I have to do everything the same."
And, oh yes, there are also those pink and green shoelaces the players have worn throughout the streak. No one's talking it, but there's a chance those colors will change whenever the streak ends.
However, the Panthers are first and foremost talented. They run, press and can hit 3-pointers. And when all else fails, they have a money-in-the-bank low-post player in Morgan Frame.
But like any good streak, there have been a few close calls along the way.
Waterville was down by six points late against Mt. View this season and rallied to win. Last season, the Panthers trailed Belfast by five points with two minutes left. Then there was a two-point win against Mattanawcook in the Eastern Maine semifinals, and a one-point win in overtime against Lake Region in the state final.
Otherwise, the Panthers have won handily. Of course, their rematch against Lake Region will likely be a tough one.
"I'm a senior," Given said. "So the streak's going to end for me."
Most of the rest of the team, including the other four starters, will be back next season, so the streak could well reach into the 60s. Then it might take on a life of its own, much like the 101-game streak put together by the Valley High boys earlier this decade.
Winning state titles is the goal of any team, but put together a streak like the one Waterville has and even state championships are magnified.
"Coach talked yesterday about how last year we wanted John Bapst," Frame said. "And this year we knew Mattanawcook wanted to come get us because we beat them last year. But our pressure is we were not going to lose because we haven't lost in so long."
Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com
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