The MIAA girls basketball season is in the rear-view mirror. To put a bow on the winter, we're unveiling our first New England Basketball Journal awards.
Our honors consist of an MIAA Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and three All-MIAA teams.
With so much talent to choose from and so many star performances, this was a fun, selective and extremely challenging process. We weighed players' individual production, team success and standout games when the stakes were highest. Seniority and college prospect status do not matter — only winning impact this season.
Take a look at our award recipients who defined the year of MIAA hoops.
Player of the Year: Jae Scott, Wachusett
Class of 2026, 6-0 forward
Our first-ever MIAA Player of the Year award was tightly-contested, and throughout the winter, each of our All-MIAA First Team members (see below) made legitimate claims. Some were seniors who graduate high school with impressive individual resumes. One is fielding high-major college offers.
But this is not a career achievement award. Scott averaged 20.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks this season, establishing herself as one of the best on both sides of the ball. Her two-way impact on Wachusett, her consistency, and her memorable performance (31 points, 14 rebounds and a game-winning bucket) in the brightest spotlight of the Division 1 championship game were unmatched.
Read our Player of the Year profile of Scott here.
Defensive Player of the Year: Bella Owumi, St. Mary's
Class of 2027, 6-0 guard/forward
Hometown: Lynn, Mass.
There was no more fearsome defensive matchup than Owumi, an ultra-athletic wing who propelled the Spartans to their third Division 3 championship in four years. The sophomore averaged 12.2 rebounds and 4.1 steals, and that doesn't even account for the many enormous, "where-did-she-come-from" blocks throughout the winter. Owumi spearheaded a Spartans defense that allowed just 38.8 points per game and gave up more than 50 points only three times in the 2025 portion of the schedule.
Coach of the Year: Liana Cunningham, North Quincy
Cunningham, in her second year as head coach, took a young North Quincy roster with four sophomore starters all the way to the Division 2 semifinals — believed to be the furthest in program history. The Raiders improved from 12-10 last season to 20-4 and finished a conference-best 14-2 in the Patriot League. Cunningham is a 2018 graduate of Quincy High who played in college at Framingham State.
Coach of the Year is always competitive. Braintree's Kelley Macdonald deserves serious credit for turning around her program in similar fashion to reach the Div. 1 semifinals. Jim Oxford was also in the conversation after guiding a young Wachusett team to the Div. 1 title.
All-MIAA First Team
Kat Cheesebro, Dartmouth
Class of 2025, 5-8 guard
Cheesebro capped one of the most dominant MIAA careers in recent memory by averaging 27.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.4 steals per game. She won Spartan Classic MVP honors and led Dartmouth to a No. 2 seed and a spot in the Division 2 quarterfinals.
In four years, Cheesebro eclipsed the 2,000-point plateau, finishing as Dartmouth's all-time scoring leader with 2,058 points. She does not plan to play college basketball, but her legacy at Dartmouth will last far beyond graduation.
Ava Orlando, Notre Dame (Hingham)
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
NCAA: Bentley
We have a second 2,000-point scorer (2,236 total) to praise. Orlando, a fixture in the Cougars' rise since she was a middle-schooler, reached the mark while posting 23.0 points, 7.0 assists, 6.7 steals and 5.5 rebounds per game as a senior. She powered Notre Dame to the Div. 2 quarterfinals and dropped 43 points against Central Catholic with her elite handle and perimeter shooting.
Kailey Sullivan, Foxboro
Class of 2025, 5-8 guard
Sullivan ascended to superstar scorer status, putting up 25.2 points per game and leading Foxboro to the Div. 3 semifinals. The Hockomock League Davenport MVP logged five games with 30-plus points while averaging 3.4 assists. Sullivan ends high school with 1,895 points.
Bella Owumi, St. Mary’s
Class of 2027, 6-0 guard/forward
Hometown: Lynn, Mass.
In addition to her Defensive Player of the Year status, Owumi dominated offensively. She averaged 17.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists, making 49 percent of her total field goals and 33 percent of her 3-pointers. Owumi's 19 points lifted St. Mary's in the Div. 3 title game. She's a three-time state champion, having started since seventh grade.
Jae Scott, Wachusett
Class of 2026, 6-0 forward
Scott is our first MIAA Player of the Year. Read her Player of the Year profile here.
All-MIAA Second-Team
Hijjah Allen-Paisley, Cathedral
Class of 2025, 5-5 guard
NCAA: Franklin Pierce
Allen-Paisley has been the centerpiece of Cathedral's Division 4 dominance, winning four state championships with the Panthers. As a senior, the Franklin Pierce commit averaged 18.1 points and 3.5 assists per game. Allen-Paisley led Cathedral with 20 points in the Div. 4 championship.
Naya Annigeri, Medfield
Class of 2027, 5-8 guard
Annigeri has quickly developed a reputation as one of the MIAA's most efficient lead guards. She posted 16.8 points, 3.8 steals and 3.2 assists per game with pristine 49-39-87 percent shooting splits on the Div. 2 champion Warriors. Annigeri has two Tri-Valley League MVP awards in two seasons of high school basketball.
Maddy Steel, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2025, 5-8 guard
NCAA: Tufts
One of the MIAA's top clutch performers — just watch her game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds against Worcester South — Steel won Catholic Central League Offensive Player of the Year. She averaged 15.7 points and 4.2 rebounds while hitting 36% of her threes to lead Bishop Feehan to the Div. 1 final. Steel made it to the championship game three times (winning it all in 2023-24) and went 85-17 at Bishop Feehan, a school record.
Alyssa Hopps, Quincy
Class of 2025, 5-11 forward
NCAA: Babson
Hopps was a two-way force in the Patriot League, leading the conference in scoring (18.6 points) while tallying 11.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game with 13 double-doubles. She helped Quincy reach the Div. 1 quarterfinals and ends high school tied as the Presidents' all-time scoring leader (1,348 points).
Maddie Oliver, Norwell
Class of 2025, 5-11 guard/forward
Oliver won her third consecutive South Shore League MVP award and steered the Clippers to a second straight appearance in the Div. 3 championship. She averaged 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals as a versatile wing and was among the MIAA tournament standouts. Oliver has not committed to a college yet but is fielding interest, having recently picked up an offer from Central Connecticut State.
All-MIAA Third Team
Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames
Class of 2026, 5-7 guard
Gamble's consistent motor and scoring punch resulted in 19.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.1 assists per game. She led Oliver Ames to the second round of the Div. 2 tournament and has already passed 1,000 career points as a junior.
Teegan Lanpher, Wachusett
Class of 2027, 5-3 guard
The sophomore was one of the breakout stars of this season and a key reason why Wachusett went from an apparent rebuild year to a Division 1 title. Lanpher averaged 14.1 points and two steals per game, quickly earning a reputations as one of the peskiest point-of-attack defenders in the MIAA. She scored 30 points in the second round of the Div. 1 tournament and 13 in the state championship.
Mckenna Morrison, Woburn
Class of 2025, 5-7 guard
NCAA: Flagler
Morrison chipped in everywhere for the Tanners, averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.4 steals and 2.3 made 3-pointers per game. She won Middlesex League co-MVP and helped lead Woburn to the Div. 1 quarterfinals. Morrison finished high school a perfect 64-0 in conference games and made four runs to the state quarterfinals or better in her four years.
Izzy Kittredge, Medfield
Class of 2026, 6-1 forward
Kittredge, a Tri-Valley League All-Star, was named Medfield's team MVP. She averaged 11.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the top-ranked Warriors. Kittredge saved her best for last in the Division 2 championship, racking up 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks.
Frankie Spadorcia, Braintree
Class of 2025, 6-0 forward
NCAA: Salve Regina
Spadorcia was the engine of Braintree's remarkable breakout season that culminated in a Div. 1 semifinal run. The basketball and volleyball star racked up 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks per game. She'll be continuing with both sports in college at Salve Regina.
Honorable mentions:Â Charlotte Adams-Lopez (Bishop Feehan), Bryan Bascones (Worcester South), Bella Bingham (Walpole), Amelia Crowe (Pentucket), Peyton DiBiasio (Saugus), Reagan Dowd (Norwell), Sophie Gibbons (Wachusett), Aniela Kwo (Central Catholic), Ashlyn Lesure (Hoosac Valley), Shannon McCarthy (Woburn), Paige Meda (Bourne), Jenna Mishou (Archbishop Williams), Elle Orlando (Notre Dame Hingham), Maliah Pierre (Whitman-Hanson), Maeve Powers (North Quincy), Allie Regan (Framingham)
