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BOSTON — Wow.

That pretty much sums up the Central Catholic High girls performance here at the T.D. Garden in the EMass final between No. 2 seed Braintree (24-3), winning 55-51.

BOSTON — Wow.

That pretty much sums up the Central Catholic High girls performance here at the T.D. Garden in the EMass final between No. 2 seed Braintree (24-3), winning 55-51.

LOWELL — For three varsity seasons, Central Catholic’s Casey McLaughlin worked and waited for her chance at a Division 1 North title and an oppertunity to play for a state championship. For three years, she had to watch archrival Andover High celebrate the title, and dream of her chance. Last night, McLaughlin and the rest of the Raiders grabbed their opportunity. Central Catholic overcame a fourth-quarter surge by Westford Academy and locked up its first Division 1 North championship since its state title season of 2008-09 with a 60-51 victory at the Tsongas Center last night. “I have never won a North title, so this is pretty amazing,” said McLaughlin. “I’ve been waiting for this for four years, so I am so happy to finally get it. All of us have been wanting this for so long, and we kept falling short. So to do this is great.” The Raiders advance to the Division 1 state semifinal to take on South champ Braintree at the TD Garden on Monday. “I haven’t been to the Garden since I was a freshman (in the North final),” said McLaughlin. “I am so excited for that game. It is going to be battle, and I can’t wait to play there again.” McLaughlin, in fact, is the only member of the Raiders who has played at the Garden, as a freshman on the varsity team when the Celtics’ home arena hosted the North finals. “It’s going to be like nothing I have ever experienced,” said junior Caitlin Dell’Orfano. “We have been working for this for three years, so to finally get to the Garden is a dream. We HAD to win this game.” After years of frustration, the Raiders were dying for the opportunity last night. “You should have seen us in the locker room before the game,” said Darion Summers, the only other senior on the team. “We were so crazy. We were ready to go to war. We had waited so long for this chance.” But it certainly wasn’t easy for Central.  The Raiders seemed to be in control, leading 46-37 late in the third quarter and holding all of the momentum. But Westford Academy then struck for a 12-0 run, grabbing a 49-46 lead in the early stages of the fourth and leaving the Raiders stunned. “Everyone had a gut check,” said McLaughlin. “We realized that this could be our last game. We could lose. So everyone just mentally prepared to get back in the game, and we started finally hitting our shots and making plays.” McLaughlin ended the run with a free throw, then Dell’Orfano stuck a deep 2-pointer to give the Raiders their groove back. “The shot was big,” she said. “I hadn’t been hitting my shots all game. I knew I had to  make that shot. If I had to make one shot all year, that was the one.” The Raiders kept rolling, with jumpers by Courtney Walsh and McLaughlin. Walsh chipped in with three key free throws and Summers iced the win with a pair of her own from the line. As the clock ticked to 0:00, Central charged the court for an emotional celebration. “We are still celebrating,” said Walsh. “Every time we see each other we are screaming. To know that all our hard work has paid off. And we aren’t done yet. We wanted the North title, and we pushed hard to get it.” Walsh finished with a game-high 16 points, while McLaughlin was right behind with 15 points. Summers knocked down three crucial 3-pointers and Amanda Williams had 10 points. “I really am elated for these girls,” said Central coach Sue Downer. “We have had some heart-breaking losses, and you could see how bad they wanted it. Everyone had faith and everyone contributed. I am so proud.” Next up, a trip to the TD Garden to play for a spot in the Division 1 state title game. “It really is amazing,” said Summers. “Playing at the Garden is an experience of a lifetime. Now we have to relax and deliver.”

MANCHESTER — In the first meeting obetween the two teams this season, the Bishop Guertin girls ran over Londonderry to the tune of a 46-point thumping.
In the semifinals of the Division 1 state tournament last night, the Lancers limited BG to 32 points fewer than the 78 they put up in that Jan. 8 affair.
Unfortunately, the improved defensive effort wasn’t enough to change the outcome.
One year after knocking off the Lancers in the state championship, top-seeded Bishop Guertin once again sent fourth-seeded Londonderry home with a 46-33 victory at Southern New Hampshire University.
With the game time moved up earlier in the day because of the storm, neither team could find the range in a first half that featured only 32 points and BG holding a two-point advantage.
“I couldn’t hit a shot for my life in the first half,” said Londonderry junior Aliza Simpson, who was part of a team effort that converted only 23.8 percent of its 21 first-half field-goal attempts.

BREAK-OUT BOX

Whittier sophomore Kayla Riley averaged 17.5 points in four playoff games with much of the work done at the line. Here are her numbers:                 Free throws made-attempted     Points scored First round    2-3     10

Unbeaten Reading's offensive depth — despite using only six players — was too much for sixth-ranked North Andover to contest, ending the Knights' tourney run in the Division 2 North finals with a 50-33 defeat. Morgan Lumb shook off a fierce Rocket defensive blanket to lead North Andover with 17 points and 6 rebounds.

Ipswich led after a 5-0 early third-quarter run, but it was all Pentucket after that in a 46-26 win in the Division 3 North semifinals.

Kelsi McNamara had 15 points and Coley Viselli 13 in the win.

CHELSEA — The query on the back of the Whittier girls' warmups asks "Can you keep up?"

Last night was more a question of whether the Wildcats would get started.

TEWKSBURY — Central Catholic dominated Andover High almost from the opening tap. It played swarming defense from start to finish. It got a big performance from its star player. And it advance to the Div. 1 North finals at the Tsongas Arena on Saturday.

After falling behind Portsmouth by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, Windham turned pressure defense into points to climb to within four with 1:16 left to play. Unfortunately, time and opportunities ran out for the Jaguars as they fell in the Division 3 semifinals for the second year in a row, 47-41. Amanda Schiebel led Windham with 13 points and Bernadette Connors was next in line with 11 points.