On Saturday, she made it happen.

Fehlberg scored 27 points and dished five assists in Emery's 51-40 victory over Dixie in the Class 3-A championship game at Burns Arena. It was the Spartans' first state girls' basketball championship.

Fehlberg scored 18 of her points in the first half, nearly outscoring the Flyers by herself in the first two quarters, and anchored the Spartans' suffocating press defense.

"She showed up," said Emery guard Meagan Pearson. "She's a star. She definitely pulled us through."

For Fehlberg, who has also won a state title in the 300 hurdles, her brilliant performance was motivated by fulfilling a life-long goal.

"Since the second I started playing basketball this has been my goal," Fehlberg said. "Working with these girls, it's been awesome."

Fehlberg helped the Spartans take control of the game in the second quarter when she scored 13 of the their 15 points. Emery broke a 15-15 tie by scoring eight straight points, and it wasn't threatened again until the fourth quarter.

The Flyers opened the fourth quarter on an 8-1 run and trimmed what had been a double-digit Emery lead to 39-34 with 5:34 remaining. But Dixie struggled from the free-throw line down the stretch (1-for-9 in the game) and Emery got over some pre-trophy-awarding ceremony jitters and put the game away.

"I told them to quit being so wide-eyed," said Emery coach Steven Gordon. "We've been there before. It had to count for something."

The win gave Emery some redemption from last year when it took second in Class 3-A. The Spartans lost to Canyon View in the title game, and were motivated to trade a silver trophy for a gold one.

"I definitely don't think we would have worked as hard as we did [without taking second last year]," Pearson said. "I felt like we deserved it and we went out and got it."

Emery's full-court press caused Dixie problems throughout the contest. The Spartans forced 18 turnovers and got several easy baskets off of them.

Sophomore ShiAnne Allred nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Jodi Robertson also contributed, as she sank a three-pointer late in the third quarter to put Emery up 11 going into the fourth.

The Spartans spoiled what had been a remarkable tournament run by the Flyers. Dixie was a No. 4 seed from Region 9 and entered the state tournament with an 8-12 record. The Flyers reeled off three straight upset wins, by a total of 10 points, to reach the title game.

Cherie Lyle led Dixie with 15 points and Lakell Havens had 18 rebounds for the Flyers.

* Camille Fehlberg had 27 points and five assists to lead Emery to the Class 3-A championship.

* It was the first state girls' basketball championship in school history for the Spartans.