At most schools, Nia Irving would be considered the greatest basketball player in program history.

She has more than 1,700 career points and 1,100 rebounds, is a four-time Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the 2014-15 Maine Gatorade girls’ basketball player of the year.

Nia Irving has been head and shoulders above opponents in her four years at Lawrence High, and hopes to cap it with a second state title Saturday against York in the Class A final. Then it’s on to BU to join another Lawrence product – assistant coach Cindy Blodgett. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Irving – a Miss Maine Basketball finalist – will lead Lawrence High (21-0) into the Class A final against York (21-0) at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. The Bulldogs, who beat Thornton Academy 50-43 for the Class A title last winter, haven’t lost since Feb. 4, 2015.

“She has been one of the more unstoppable players in school history,” Coach John Donato said.

“You can’t deny she’s one of the better ones to come out of the state in a long time.”

At most schools, that would be enough to be at the top of the list of all-time greats, but most schools don’t have Cindy Blodgett as part of their past.

“I had the best seat in the house,” said Blodgett’s high school coach, Bruce Cooper. “It was challenging for four years because she was the greatest player the state has ever seen.

“Everybody – coaches, staff and teammates – had to be on their game because everybody in the entire state was watching all of us. Nobody wanted to be the weak link. It was definitely challenging in that aspect but it was also a lot of fun because she’s done stuff with basketball that’s just amazing.”

Blodgett led Lawrence to four straight Class A titles in the early 1990s and leads the state in career points with 2,596.

When it comes to directly comparing who had the better high school career – Irving or Blodgett – well, it can’t be made.

But Blodgett is in a good position to know. Not only has she followed Irving’s career but next season they’ll be together – Irving as a freshman at Boston University and Blodgett as an assistant coach.

“Sometimes people are quick to compare and I think that’s really unfair to the young people,” Blodgett said. “I’m ancient. I’m over 20 years removed from high school. The game has changed a lot. Kids are playing AAU basketball and playing 80 to 100 games a year. It’s different.”

Blodgett did say she sees similarities to their approach.

“Young people today play for a variety of reasons,” Blodgett said. “Sometimes it’s peer pressure, sometimes it’s pressure from home, sometimes it’s wanting to get a scholarship to play at the next level. All of those reasons are fine and fair game, but there are only a handful of players that play for the pure joy of it. When Nia plays, you can tell she loves it.

“(Nia and I) both really enjoy playing the game. I know Nia loves the game and she loves being on the court with her teammates. She is very coachable, so in that regard I’m definitely drawn to her game.”

Irving verbally committed to Boston University last June and then made it official in November.

“She’s been a really great mentor on the court and off the court,” Irving said of Blodgett. “She’s helped me so far with the whole recruiting process, and I know in the future it’s going to be good to have her help me with the transition from high school to college in both academics and athletics.”

Irving admitted she’s reminisced about her high school career heading into her final game. She’s thought about how far she and a number of her teammates have come since playing together as fourth graders, as well as the legacy they hope to leave.

“I’m hoping … that everything my teammates and I have done has helped paved the way for future success,” Irving said. “I’m just hoping to bring back the winning tradition for Lawrence girls’ basketball.”

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