The end was as tough as the season was memorable. Cathedral High School girls basketball continued to progress in Lisa Finn’s seventh season as head coach, reaching milestones and turning in one of the most successful seasons in recent program memory. “For the most the part, it was a very, very, very fun year,” Finn said. The Irish in 2025-2026 finished 20-7 – the most victories in Finn’s tenure as coach – with Finn moving past the 100-victory mark at the school. They swept through three games to win the Class 3A Section 26 title before losing to Roncalli, 52-50, in the regional playoff. “Hands down the most fun I've had as a coach here,” Finn said. “We got everything out of them that we could have gotten, basketball wise. And then on top of it, they all just really liked each other, which made it really enjoyable. We dealt with no team drama at all.” The Irish beat Herron 65-3 in Round 1 of the sectional, beating Purdue Englewood 55-43 in the seminal and Attucks 46-38 in the final. The Irish won 15 of 17 games entering the postseason. “We just kept finding ways to win,” Finn said. “Our leading scorers would be in foul trouble and somebody else would step up, then the next game it would be someone else. “It was just coming really easy for them. A lot of it has to do with chemistry and the chemistry off the floor, too. They were just really good kids that wanted to play for each other and understood what we were trying to do as a team. That’s really hard to find and it’s hard to duplicate.” Roncalli won the regional with two free throws in the final seconds, ending a six-game Cathedral winning streak. “It went so fast,” Finn said. “I just wish we had more time. I couldn't even find words in that locker room afterwards. That's the hardest part as a coach. It's going to be better with time. But there's still a part of it that feels like a punch in the gut, especially when you knew you were capable of more. “That's honestly what makes it so hard when it ends like that. It's going to sting for a minute. The girls all could see big picture and that was really cool, but only one team gets to celebrate at the end unfortunately.” The Irish in 2025-2026 were led by a pair of strong seniors: *Forward Tatum Triggs, a four-year player who averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in 2025-2026. “We squeezed every ounce of her ability out of her,” Finn said. “She's a great kid off the floor – really good student, great leader, really pleasant to be around. I was so happy to see her do well. She did everything that she could do to leave the program in a better place than it was. That was really cool.” *Guard Precious Anuka, who led the Irish with 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.6 steals per game in 2025-2026. Anuka missed her freshman season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and missed her sophomore season, playing a significant role the past two seasons. “She just kind of took the team on her back on the court and scoring wise, especially,” Finn said. Sophomore guard/forward Caroline Wiggins averaged 10.3 points and rebounds per game in ’25-26, with sophomore guard Maddy Watko averaging 5.8 and 3.4 rebounds per game. “They'll both continue to be big pieces of what we're trying to do,” Finn said. “They're super, super competitive. Maddy and Caroline will be huge, huge parts.” Also contributing significantly were six juniors: Guard Amanda Lupke (.5 ppg), guard Merritt Hill (2.0), guard Lia Brann (1.8), wing Taylor Babington (5.7), guard Veronica Derringer (3.4) and guard Livia Walker-Back (1.4). “We rotated at that fifth starting spot,” Finn said. “We kind of rotated and toyed with that. We had a couple injuries and a concussion with some of those girls. That's probably the hardest part this year, too, is finding playing time for those girls. “Every role is important. Not everybody's going to be the leading scorer. Not everybody's going to start, play the most minutes, but they're just great kids to have around.” The Irish had eight girls on the junior varsity and 10 on the varsity in 2025-2026, a season in which a small cohesive team continued building a program that Finn said should flourish and grow moving forward. “Our numbers were down a little bit, but it ended up just kind of working out because it allowed us to be a little closer knit every day at practice and with all the things that we did,” Finn said. “We're at the point where there’s an expectation to succeed and that's really hard to instill in kids. “I think now it's, ‘Of course we're supposed to win city. Of course we're supposed to win sectional because that's what we do every year’. It’s a lot of pressure, but I'd rather that be the case than thinking we're going to try to steal a game and then bow out in the sectional every year.”