Piscataway, NJ — The moment Mia and Mya Pauldo set foot on Morris Catholic’s Denville campus, the Crusaders knew they had something special. Four state championship games and three titles later and the Pauldo Era has proved to be one of the most fruitful in state history.

With their 54-44 win over 27-1 Paul VI, Morris Catholic are the 14th girls basketball program to win three consecutive state championships, and the first parochial school to do so since St. John Vianney’s six straight from 1990-95.

From the get-go this contest was a daunting task for the Eagles, who came into the game undefeated and featured three players with at least 300 points. Hardly underdog material, save the fact that they were going up against the number two ranked team in the country.

The first quarter was typical Morris Catholic fare, with Mya Pauldo knocking down a pair of threes and the Crusaders defense smothering Paul VI, holding them to just seven points on 25% shooting.

Things got tight in the third frame, thanks to some clean basketball from the Eagles. They spread the wealth with Kiyanna Blacks-Stewart, Rachel Thatcher, and Azanah Campbell scoring six, five, and four points respectively. They also generated four turnovers while not giving up any, managing to win the quarter 15-11.

And then Morris Catholic turned it on.

Mya dazzled with 9 points in the final period, as Paul VI found themselves in striking distance, but never close enough.

Mya capped off her historic career with 21 points and five rebounds while going nine for nine from the free throw line. Mia Pauldo chipped in 15 with five boards and four assists, exceeding 500 points in a season for the third time in her career.

The duo will ride off into the sunset with four Morris County Tournaments championships to go along with the three state titles as they gear up to play Division I ball at Tennessee next season.