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Richfield • Delta coach Kurtis Topham raised the Class 2A girls' basketball state championship trophy above his head, looking into the sea of red engulfing the stands at the Sevier Valley Center.

For the first time since 1987, the Rabbits are the champions.

"We win it a lot in wrestling. To get it in something else means a lot," Topham said Saturday night, after the Rabbits beat Kanab 45-37 for the title. "I love Delta. I'm happy for the girls, they played their hearts out, and that's who it's for, is them."

Delta (21-3) virtually led wire-to-wire, briefly trailing only after Kanab went on a 10-0 run to get a one-point edge early in the second half. But once Dani Finlinson dropped a pair of 3-pointers in as many possessions, the Rabbits never trailed again.

"I looked up at the clock, and there's like .09 seconds left," said Finlinson, who scored 12 points after coming in off the bench. "I just chucked something up, and it went in."

Finlinson was one of three Delta players named to the All-Tournament team, joining Sidney Springer and Harlee Willoughby, who garnered Tournament MVP honors. Katie Glover (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Shaylee McDonald represented Kanab (21-3) on the list.

"We've had a great season. They just ran out of gas," said Kanab coach Mickey Houston. "[We] did silly things that hurt us; we had girls not understand situations, but overall they had a great year. Today Delta played better than us."

Delta forced 16 turnovers in its aggressive full-court press, but the biggest steal was simply intuition.

After Kanab had whittled the deficit to two points, Ciara Edwards — who scored eight points in eight minutes in the first half, including two early 3-pointers that carved a 10-2 lead — trickled back to intercept a pass at midcourt.

"I knew it was coming, so I just anticipated," Edwards said. "I didn't know if I was going to get it, I just thought I'd take a shot."

Off the steal, Willoughby — who had been relatively quiet offensively while channeling her focus defensively on stopping McDonald (6 points on 2-of-10 shooting) — muscled up a layup through contact for a pivotal three-point play. On the ensuing possession, Hayley Sorensen nailed a 3-pointer from the corner pocket to boost Delta's lead to eight with 3:28 to play.

It was only her third 3-pointer of the season.

"One of my goals was to make more than I did last year, and I only made two," Sorensen said. "So might as well end on the third one in the championship game."

The red spilled over into the court, as fans joined players in singing Queen's "We Are The Champions" ballad. It was a party 28 years in the making.

"You can see how many supporters we had [come]," Finlinson said. "It was almost the whole town of Delta. It's great to see the support we have behind us."

Twitter: @trevorphibbs —

Delta 45, Kanab 37

• Dani Finlinson scores 12 points off the bench, six of it in the third quarter

• Harlee Willoughby holds Kanab's Shaylee McDonald to six points on 2-of-10 shooting

• Haley Sorensen scores 12 points in Rabbits' first state title win since 1987.