(photo courtesy Warsaw High School)

(Indianapolis) — Warsaw won the first state girls basketball title, and the Tigers were looking to claim the 50th as well.

But the storybook had a different ending.

A Lawrence North team that was 10-8 on January 24 got hot at the right time and reigns as the Class 4A state champion after a 65-59 win over the Tigers Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Senior Brooke Winchester closed her prep career with 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers. She carried the team in the first quarter, scoring 10 points to help Warsaw grab a 19-16 lead after one.

But the Tigers — who were one of the state’s best shooting teams all season — couldn’t buy a bucket in the middle two quarters, thanks in part to the quickness and length of Lawrence North.  Warsaw shot 6-of-25 in the middle two stanzas and made 11 turnovers, as the Wildcats opened a 52-35 lead after three quarters.

Warsaw came out on fire in the fourth. Brooke Zartman, Abbey Peterson and Alexis Neely combined to go 4-4 from three-point range in the first two minutes of the period, closing the lead to seven at 56-49.  Through turnovers and missed shots, the score stayed the same for four minutes, before Lawrence North finally hit a pair of free throws.

The Tigers made one last surge in the final minute, as an old-fashioned three-point play by Joslyn Bricker narrowed the gap to 60-57 with 30 seconds remaining. Keadriah Butler then scored the last four of her game-high 20 points from the foul line and secured the Wildcats their second state championship.

The Tigers close the season at 26-2, the most wins in school history. Warsaw’s Abbey Peterson was named the winner of the state’s mental attitude award.

Bricker scored 13 and Zartman finished with 12. Both juniors will return next season.