BRIDGEWATER — At this time of year, you can set your watch to two things.
First off, spring is right around the corner. Second? That Cathedral will be competing for a girls basketball championship.
Senior guard Hijjah Allen-Paisley paced all scorers with 19 points to go with three steals, while junior Keyona Raines added 16 points as the top-seeded Panthers (18-5) coasted to their latest Div. 4 hoops final Wednesday with a convincing 71-31 romp of No. 4 Bourne (22-3) at Bridgewater State University.
“I think it’s about people buying in,” said Cathedral coach Clinton Lassiter. “Like the parents … that type of child that comes to the school for the betterment of education, academically and with the instruction we serve. I think it’s their commitment, and them buying into the rigor every day that they go through at practice. It makes it easier when you come in with the standards here.”
As the Panthers walked onto the court at the Adrian Tinsley Center, each player had a shirt reading: ‘Outwork yesterday’. Underneath? A trophy representing each of their six state crowns from the past decade. In the early going, it appeared they might have run into a challenge. Raines registered 10 first-quarter points to help the Panthers get off to a roaring start. However, Bourne senior captain Paige Meda made one dazzling play after the next, helping her team cut it to a 16-15 game through one frame.
However, once the second quarter got underway, Cathedral returned to its dominant roots. As the stanza progressed, Allen-Paisley took over the game, erupting for 10 points in the quarter. Meanwhile, the rest of the Panthers also began to find a groove, as Cathedral used an 18-4 run to break the game open. By the half, the Panthers had a 34-19 edge, and they would only ramp up the pressure with passing time.
Deja vu, the Panthers proceeded to outscore Bourne in the third quarter at an identical 18-4 clip, and they were able to put the game to bed from there.
Meda finished with a double-double to carry Bourne all night, finishing with 16 points to go with 12 rebounds.
Cathedral now looks ahead to the Div. 4 championship, where the Panthers will face No. 3 South Hadley. Since faltering to Cohasset in the Round of 16 in 2022, Cathedral has won 14 straight playoff games, winning by an average of 32.5 points per game. It could be their last crack at this level, however, as the Panthers will be moving up to Div. 3 next season.
“The beauty we have is that we play with the Feehans, the St. Marys, the Malden Catholics and the Fenways in the regular season,” said Lassiter. “So we get tested. Again, we lost to Feehan by three, and I thought we had them on the ropes … I think we’re battle-tested all-year round. Then we come here, and it’s just about trying to seal the deal.”