HOLDEN — The Wachusett Regional High girls’ basketball team inched one step closer to its collective goal — a Division 1 state championship — with a 67-44 victory over No. 7 seed visitors Weymouth High on March 7, played before a jam-packed audience. The quarterfinal win earned the No. 2 seed Mountaineer girls (23-0) a berth in the Final Four entering their matchup with Springfield Central played earlier this week.
The 2023-2024 season marks the third consecutive campaign in which the green and white have captured the MIAA Division 1 Final Four trophy. Wachusett fell to Andover in last year’s semifinals and at press time was looking to reverse that trend, which would give the program its first state championship.
“We’ve been playing together since freshman year. It’s exciting, but it’s not over yet,” said senior co-captain Liz Cain, all smiles. “We try to help each other out. We’re so excited to be going back to the semifinals. Everyone on the team wants a state championship, and we’re going to work really hard to get it.”
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to coach these kids” said WRHS head coach Jim Oxford. “Our players are smart. They work hard and take what they learn individually and they bring it to these games. They did that tonight. They were ready to go.
“Weymouth has two real big kids (6-foot-1 Megan Doyle and 6-4 Callie Flynn) who are really good players, and we had our kids ready to do what they had to do to contain them. They’re really excellent basketball players. A lot of prep went into this game. We had a brief first quarter lapse on our part. We did what we were supposed to do, and that’s what happens when we do what we’re supposed to do.”
“Everyone works so hard at practice and puts in 100% effort every single day,” added US Naval Academy-bound Mary Gibbons. “Our coaches spend so much time studying game film. They don’t have time for their families this time of year because they’re so focused on winning. We’re very fortunate to have coaches like this who are dedicated to reaching our goal of winning a state championship.”
“We knew they had a size advantage, but we’ve played against big kids before,” said senior co-captain Hannah Best.
Not lost in all of the postgame celebration was the athleticism of sophomore Jaelynn Scott, who was a force at both ends of the court. Her presence on the court and the spark she added to an already stout lineup could not be overlooked. Her defense created a series of breakaway opportunities that resulted in points for the home team.
“The last game I don’t think she got off to the start that we expected to see from her, so tonight she was ready,” Oxford said of Scott’s contributions on the night. “When Jae gets off like, that she’s a problem defensively. She came out ready to play.”
“I’m just so proud of her, and I love seeing how she’s sprouted and grown as a player,” added Gibbons. “She has so much ahead of her. She’s such an incredible player. She continues to take us far.”
Leading scorers on the night were Gibbons with 19 points, Scott with 16, Liz Cain with 12 and Hannah Best with 10.
Members of the 2023-2024 Wachusett Regional High girls varsity MIAA Final Four basketball team are Rileigh Leary, Sophie Gibbons, Mary Gibbons, Liz Cain, Lil Chaisson, Jae Scott, Akosua Adu-Gyamfi, Caitlin Ciccone, Hannah Best, Teegan Lanpher and Olivia Reidy. Captains are Leary, Cain, Best and Mary Gibbons.
