Orem » Richfield might have moved up from Class 2A to 3A this year but, when it comes to girls' basketball, it doesn't matter. The Wildcats remain the class of whatever class they are in.

After claiming the title in the smaller classification last year, Richfield withstood a strong challenge from aggressive Union at Utah Valley University on Saturday and took a 53-48 victory.

This game was all about close-to-the-basket warfare with neither team shooting well from outside. The majority of the field goals came either from the foul line or within a few feet of the basket.

It was also close all the way with neither team leading by more than eight.

The Wildcats had just a little bit too much height for the aggressive Cougars as junior Chelsee Willardson and some clutch free-throw shooting late in the game proved to be the difference.

Willardson, a tall, slender junior, finished with 24 points and seven rebounds and was the dominant player on the floor.

This was Richfield's third straight girls' title game, and that experience also proved to be helpful as it took about a half for Union to shake off some jitters. But once the Cougars did, it was quite a game. Led by the play of Brianna Nielsen, Katie Richens and Sarah John, the Cougars rallied to take a 28-24 third quarter lead. But then Willardson took over and Richfield managed to just barely hold off Union.

"I knew I needed to score for my team," she said. "I was so nervous but all tournament long we came back in the third quarter."

Richfield coach Marc Peterson called Union a great team and praised the Cougars for their feistiness.

Feisty was a good description for Union. The Cougars struggled from the line, hitting only 17 of 28, and hit few shots longer than 6 feet. But time and time again, they fought inside against the taller Wildcats, sometimes taking two or three shots on a series from point-blank range after offensive rebounds.

The game wasn't decided until the final 19 seconds. Richens hit Union's only three-point basket of the game to make it 50-48 with 23 seconds to play. Willardson sank the first of two free throws with 18.9 seconds to play. When she missed the second, Union failed to get the rebound and put Willardson back on the line. When the big center converted two free throws to make it 53-48, the game was decided.

"No one expected us to be here in our first year in 3A," said Peterson. "We knew we would play tough. We had some great kids coming back from our team last year."

This marked Richfield's third state girls' basketball championship. The Wildcats won in 1985.

wharton@sltrib.com