A lot of people have been wondering how close the Waterville girls basketball team is to a state record for consecutive wins in girls basketball. The Valley boys won 101 consecutive games, but the top girls streak in Maine is more of a mystery.

The Waterville girls have now won 66 consecutive games. During the Eastern B tournament, I asked Waterville coach Ted Rioux about whether that would be a state record. Rioux replied that he wanted to know but didn't know, and didn't want to jinx it by checking it out.

Looking on the microfilm and at the list of state champions in the tournament programs, I got a little closer to the answer. Cindy Blodgett's Lawrence teams won four state titles in a row, but those teams were beaten by Cony in regular season games. The Dirigo girls won the Western C title every year from 1995 to 2005, but never won more that two state titles in a row.

Two streaks stuck out as contenders. From 1978 to 1981, the Westbrook girls won four consecutive Class A titles. Those same four years, the Gorham girls won four straight Class B titles.

A story in the Morning Sentinel after Gorham won the 1981 title mentioned that the Rams were 85-1 over last four years at that point. If the loss came early or late enough, that would make for a longer streak than Waterville's.

I called Gorham High School, and left a message with someone in athletics. Unfortunately, I never heard back.

I had more luck with Westbrook. An Associated Press story after Westbrook won the 1981 title mentioned that it was win No. 70 in a row for Westbrook. The star of that team was Lisa Blais, and the article called her "the most widely recruited schoolgirl basketball player in Maine history." (Remember, this was pre-Cindy.)

I called Westbrook High School, and a woman in athletics put me in touch with Blais, who now goes by Lisa Manning and works in the Scarborough school system.

I asked her whether she knw how long the streak continued after she graduated,

"I want to say only a couple games," Manning said. "I'm not sure on that."

So apparently the longest streak in Maine is somewhere over 70. Anyone have confirmation of a longer streak?