
Article published in The Boston Globe on January 21, 2025, by Graham Dietz
Six players in all, from Noble & Greenough School, Tabor Academy, and Cathedral High, were chosen as nominees to represent Massachusetts in this year’s Girls’ McDonald’s All-American Games.
Located in the heart of the South End, Cathedral does not equate to Tabor and Nobles in terms of its resources. It is, however, one of the few inner-city schools with a dominant track record in girls’ basketball. The Panthers have won six state championships in the past nine years.
Hijjah Allen-Paisley, one of seven seniors on the team, could have easily walked away from Cathedral for a prep school with facilities akin to a small college.
Dating back to seventh grade, Allen-Paisley’s direct messages on social media filled up with messages from coaches, and offers of scholarship money and financial aid. It isn’t just prep schools seeking her attention, either. NCAA Division 2 and 3 teams have reached out, with Division 1 programs on the horizon.
But the 5-foot-5-inch point guard chose to stay close to her family in high school for a reason. Outside of taking accountability for looking after her mother, Vernee, and younger brother, Judah, Allen-Paisley’s mission is to get inner-city Boston recognized for its basketball talent.
While following in the footsteps of Masseny Kaba, a former Panther who briefly signed with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, she’s carving out her own path.
“She’s a city kid,” Cathedral coach Clinton Lassiter said. “She’s big on loyalty. Would those schools probably be better overall? Yes. But she wants to prove that that is not the route you have to take to be successful.”
Allen-Paisley knows a thing or two about dealing with the road less walked.
Her family experienced homelessness during the pandemic and shifted from shelters to hotels for a place to survive. Because she has felt what it’s like to have no stable roof over her head, her connection with the city runs even deeper. Allen-Paisley might not have her own room, but there is, at the very least, a community and a city she can call her own.
She described the city as a thread woven into her nature.
“It definitely was an eye opener that I could play at that prep level,” Allen-Paisley said, “but I chose to stay here because I’m from the city. I’m always gonna rep the city.”
Other inner-city teams don’t boast the same success against perennial Division 1 contenders that Cathedral does. There are so few of them with that spark, one that wasn’t always in place.
“When I took over the program 11 years ago, they went 1-19,” Lassiter said. “There’s no short cuts in life, and that’s what I started to preach. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”
That message translates with Allen-Paisley, who gets up every morning at 5 a.m. to work out.
“I learned how to grow up, in a sense, when it comes to basketball and life early on,” Allen-Paisley said.
Cathedral’s most recent matchup with Catholic Central rival St. Mary’s was the first in-state loss for the fifth-ranked Panthers (8-3), who let an 18-point lead going into the final quarter slip away — a finish that, while painful, was a lesson.
Allen-Paisley (15 points, 2 steals per game) is the main reason the Panthers stay competitive in those top-20 games. And no matter where she ends up playing in college, being near the city and her Cathedral family is still the priority.
“I didn’t think I would be picked for the McDonald’s game because I’m from the city,” Allen-Paisley said. “Now, this is what I want to do for the city.”

