LOWELL, Mass. — Jaelynn Scott had a lot more than the basketball in her hands. With seconds ticking away and Wachusett trailing by a point, the junior had the chance to lift the Mountaineers past three years of state tournament heartbreak and give them their first Div. 1 championship.
Scott didn't hesitate, as she hadn't all evening. Off a ball reversal and guard screen from Sophie Gibbons, Scott slithered her way past two defenders for a layup with 3.0 seconds remaining. It would lift Wachusett to a thrilling, 55-54 win over Bishop Feehan at Tsongas Center, an epic rematch of last year's final.
"Just knowing that we got to rematch them again, it fueled us up a lot, because we didn't want to feel the way we felt last year," Scott said.
Bishop Feehan triumphed 48-40 last winter, and this year, the Shamrocks (23-4) had experience on their side. Most of Wachusett's roster had played scarce minutes or not at all in the first bout. But Scott knew what she needed to do, and she took over.
CHAMPIONS CROWNED: Division 2: Medfield | Division 3: St. Mary's
The 6-foot forward racked up 31 points and 14 rebounds, becoming just the sixth girl ever to score 31 or more points in an MIAA championship game. She was practically unguardable gliding to the basket and routinely swooped in over multiple players for rebounds.
"She does stuff weekly that I've just never seen," said Wachusett coach Jim Oxford. "And I've coached an NCAA champion. I've coached probably 100 scholarship kids. The stuff this kid does is unbelievably athletic."
🎥 Jaelynn Scott’s last-second layup lifts Wachusett to its first Division 1 state championship with an epic 55-54 win over Bishop Feehan.
Video by @cflo978: pic.twitter.com/H9FI3eNs29
— New England Basketball Journal (@nehoopjournal) March 16, 2025
Wachusett (24-1) and Bishop Feehan got their runs out of the way early. The Mountaineers went up 8-0 and the Shamrocks responded with a 10-0 push. From there, it was a back-and-forth classic.
Bishop Feehan received a whopping 12 total 3-pointers from five different players. Lily Singer (12 points) caught fire with three in just the second quarter, helping the Shamrocks to a slim, 32-31 halftime lead. Fellow senior Maddy Steel chipped in two huge makes in the same quarter.
Neither team led by more than seven points after the initial runs. Wachusett took a 53-46 lead with 2:25 left, and then Feehan punched back with eight straight points, including another Singer 3-pointer and capped by Mollie Mullen (14 points, four 3-pointers) whose 3-ball gave Feehan its 54-53 lead. When Charlotte Adams-Lopez took a charge with 57.1 seconds left, the Shamrocks seemed to have control. But a missed layup set the table for Scott's game-winning score.
"I said, 'You've got to make your best play on this play,'" Oxford said. "You've got to be your best on this last-second shot. This is where champions show that they're champions — and she did."
Whenever Feehan started to string together 3s, Wachusett had answers. Aside from Scott's relentless dominance, diminutive sophomore shooting guard Teegan Lanpher exploded by defenders and drilled long-range shots en route to 13 points. Gibbons, a junior, tallied six, but came up with several tide-turning steals. The backcourt duo proved themselves against Feehan's senior standouts.
"We prepared so hard for this," Gibbons said. "I put so much trust in my teammates; I know she could handle it. Teegan's an amazing ball-handler. I just think our motto the whole night was: just keep our composure, just slow down the game, keep it our tempo and just relax."
After the game, Gibbons, Scott and several team members exchanged meaningful hugs on the sidelines with graduates who had come so close. That included Mary Gibbons, Sophie's older sister and the star of last year's team that came up just short. Mary is now an impact freshman at Navy.
"She taught me everything I know. She's the biggest role model ever," Sophie said. "It meant so much to share that moment with her. I mean, she wasn't even supposed to be here, so I'm just so grateful for the moments that we got to share tonight."
Wachusett is one of four MIAA teams to make the Final 4 or better in all four years of the statewide tournament. The other three had all won championships — and now the Mountaineers have finally reached the summit.
"I haven't processed that far ahead," Oxford said. "I'm just enjoying this, knowing that I'm not going to be crying in a locker room with kids who are sad. This time, they're happy."
