LOWELL, Mass. — In the melee of Wachusett's postgame jubilation after winning a second consecutive Division 1 championship, it was easy to lose track of Teegan Lanpher, the smallest player on the court.
But after cheers, hugs and pictures, Lanpher sprinted out on her own and up to the first row of stands where her family and older sisters embraced the 5-foot-3 guard. Lanpher's impact far outshone her stature, as her 22 points lifted the third-seeded Mountaineers in a physical, 55-47 title bout against Springfield Central on Saturday at Tsongas Center.
"It's just an unbelievable feeling," Lanpher said. "No one expected us to win it last year. Now we just did it twice with the same group. So it's just amazing."
Lanpher's heroics included 15 second-half points and 11 of her team's 18 fourth-quarter points, where her decisive off-dribble attacks and high-arcing floaters decimated the defense. On one early play, she sped under and past two pressing defenders before pulling up for a long, contested 2-pointer. Her final bucket was another rainbow runner from the baseline practically behind the backboard.
As Springfield Central (21-4) amped up its backcourt pressure on Lanpher and point guard Sophie Gibbons, Lanpher's scoring poise and passing — including an alley-oop lob to center Kyla Yurkus — helped ease the stress.
"It stabilized us," Wachusett coach Jim Oxford said. "It takes a lot of the burden off Sophie. Springfield Central is an incredibly good defensive team. They're all over (us), every single position. So Sophie handled it well. ... I like to get Teegan off the ball, because I think she's such a good shooter and a good scorer (that) I don't want her to have to run the offense. But she does relieve the burden, especially in transition from Sophie, with their passing skills."
Wachusett (22-3) first got its advantage from superstar wing Jae Scott, who scored eight of her 11 points in the first quarter. But as the Mountaineers slowly built their gap, leading 35-26 early in the first quarter, Springfield Central highly-touted freshman Zi'Yan Wallace came alive.
Wallace, a 5-foot-10, strong forward, scored 18 of her game-high 25 points in the second half. She went toe-to-toe with Scott as the two matched each other with explosive blocks at different points of the contest. They also matched up frequently on each other, trading big plays and words. As Springfield Central dug into the lead, Wachusett leaned on the composure of Lanpher and Gibbons, plus their practice time against the JV boys team, which helped get them prepared for the Golden Eagles' physicality.
Springfield Central brought their deficit to 37-34 after three quarters, and then Lanpher started the fourth by lasering a pass to Yurkus for a jump hook. She was on fire from there, and Scott corralled some important rebounds to seal the win.
"It means like a lot to me," Scott said. "Ending off with a win, ending off with this amazing team — it's like my second family, and it just feels really great."
Scott, a Tulsa commit, and Gibbons, headed to Endicott, played their final games as two program-altering leaders who went 2-for-3 on the state championship stage. Those two seniors plus Lanpher have led Wachusett to its first two MIAA titles as a star trio. They're all younger sisters of former program greats and Division college athletes: Nariah Scott (Providence), Mary Gibbons (Navy) and Belle Lanpher (Central Connecticut).
"It's really cool coaching siblings, just to see what they're like," Oxford said. "As a coach, I would never compare them to each other, but just to see how they're alike and how they're different, it's kind of a cool thing. But both of those families — boy, they've given us some great basketball players for years."
Lanpher felt the emotion postgame as she reflected on her final contest with Scott and Gibbons.
"I'm just feeling so much joy," she said. "Getting to do this twice with my favorite people in the whole world, which is amazing. I've been playing with these girls since I was in second grade, so it's just great to end on a high note."
