Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was the early start to the game. But it was St. John’s defense that made the difference in a 41-36 victory that earned the Redskins a gold ball in the 2A state championship game.

With neither team finding any rhythm on offense in the first half, both defenses were on point by clogging passing lanes down low. At halftime, St. Johns was shooting 25% and Fountain Hills was at 19.4 %. The Redskins were forced into 18 turnovers in the first 16 minutes.

It looked like St. Johns (31-5) was going to head into halftime with a little breathing room up 13-8. But Falcons junior Saedee Smith broke a four-minute scoring drought with a spinning left-handed layup. Senior Kynzi Schaunaman followed with a layup on the next possession when her defender fell down under the basket to pull within 13-12.

Fountain Hills (25-4) opened up with an 8-2 run to start the third for a 20-15 lead, but then fell back into first half patterns. Starters got into foul trouble and the smaller roster provided little depth. Redskins freshman Jordan Tsinajinnie’s layup with under a minute to go capped a 10-0 run for a 29-22 advantage.

“This is the third time we’ve played Fountain Hills so our normal stuff they know, and their normal stuff we know,” said St. Johns coach Ray Davis. “It took a half to readjust and reinvent the wheel. At the end of the day both teams are so strong defensively. That led to so many rushed shots, poor shots and turnovers.”

It was back and forth the rest of the way. The teams traded baskets and defensive stands until St. Johns had a small, but comfortable lead in which to run out the clock with.

The Redskins’ 29 turnovers kept the Falcons in the game. But it was their 48-29 rebounding advantage that was a big key.

Tsinajinnie finished with a game-high 16 points and walked away with the MVP award. Senior Roerie Knight led all players with 12 rebounds.

“Second half we got the offense going a little bit and made some clutch shots. We were able to weather the storm,” Davis added. “We knew it was going to be a game where they would punch us in the mouth. How do we respond? With this group, they respond every single time.”

Senior Taleigha Bonnaha was the only Falcon to get to double-digit points with 11. She was one of three starters with at least four fouls, and Smith fouled out of the game. As a team, they struggled offensively knocking down 13 buckets on 51 attempts, and only 3-of-20 from beyond the arc.

This is St. Johns’ first title since the 2013-14 school year, and the fourth overall. That was also the last time the school had reached the championship game after a number of semifinal losses in the last decade.