This kind of history would not come easily, but Colfax’s girls were not only ready for it they apparently knew how to make it memorable beyond belief.

Held scoreless in the first quarter and locked in a desperate chase mode throughout, the Bulldogs caught and passed King’s in the final 24 seconds to earn an unprecedented fourth consecutive Class 1A state championship Saturday night.

“I’ll tell you, that’s grit right there, isn’t it?,” Colfax coach Corey Baerlocher said after his team escaped with a 31-28 victory. “The odds were stacked against them, but it just doesn’t matter. They refuse to lose.”

And the leader of this record-setting crew was senior Kylie Shaw, who, along with teammate Lauren Mellor, became the state’s first players to go 16-0 at state in their prep careers.

Shaw coolly sank six straight free throws in final 57 seconds and finished with 16 points on 10-for-10 shooting from the foul line.

“I can’t believe that — four in a row,” said Shaw, who was the first atop the ladder to start clipping the net down. “We had a rough first half but we just kept battling. I think we still knew we could do it, but King’s came at us so hard we were on our heels.”

And nearly tipped over backwards.

Top-ranked King’s, winners of the last two Class 2A state titles, nearly delivered a knockout blow with a 10-0 first quarter. That margin extended to 15-4 midway through the second quarter.

“I think we were a little intimidated at first,” said Mellor, who had five rebounds and four steals. “It was King’s, they were 2A champs. It took us a while to match their speed and intensity.”

The first to match it was Shaw, who single-handedly finished the first half on an 8-0 run that brought the Bulldogs within 15-12 at the break.

“We kept missing everything,” Baerlocher said of his team’s 3-for-18 shooting in the first half. “But I told them at halftime, ‘Hey, we can’t keep missing like this.’ They just dig down and refuse to quit.”

It may not have been a thing of beauty statistically, but the intensity with which these teams threw themselves into the effort was remarkable and unrelenting.

King’s was still in good shape with a 25-19 lead heading into the final quarter, but the one part of the Knights’ effort that slipped was 1-for-6 shooting from the foul line down the stretch.

“We knew this would be a war and they just had a few more answers at the end than we did,” said King’s coach Eric Rasmussen. “In a game like this it comes down to a few crucial plays and we missed some free throws.”

The big sequence came when Shaw stole an inbound pass and was fouled by standout Danielle Clauson with 24 seconds left. Shaw made the foul shots for Colfax’s first lead at 29-28.

At the other end, King’s freshman Bianca Rowland missed an 8-foot jumper but Shaw was called for an over-the-back foul on the rebound with 11 seconds left. The Knights were in the double bonus but both free throws were missed and Elisa Markley came down with the rebound to basically seal it for Colfax.

Shaw was fouled with five seconds to go and she pitched in both free throws for the final margin.
“Sometimes we’re not good at adjusting, and we weren’t quite ready for them at the beginning,” Shaw said. “We didn’t give up, just kept playing as hard as we can.”

Senior Sarah Strand, a 6-foot forward headed to Montana State, scored seven of the first 12 points for King’s and finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Clauson had nine points and nine rebounds.

“The effort was there and I’m proud of that,” Rasmussen said. “Our goal was to hold them to 42, and we did play great defense. We knew it would take an effort like we had at the start, but their press gave us some problems.”

Using a full-court press early and often, Colfax forced 25 turnovers, including four in the final two minutes.

“Both teams really wanted this,” said Mellor, also a leader on Colfax’s three-time state champion volleyball team. “Some how we had the energy at the end. What we’ve done here, it’s just amazing.”

King's -- Jack 0-3 1-3 1, Strand 3-11 2-2 10, Clauson 4-12 0-0 9, Thompson 0-2 1-4 1, Friar 0-0 0-0 0, Cutright 0-3 0-0 0, Rowland 3-7 1-2 7. Totals 10-38 5-11 28.
Colfax -- Teade 2-12 0-0 4, Lazzarini 0-6 0-0 0, Harazin 1-6 3-4 5, Largent 0-2 0-0 0, Markley 2-2 0-0 4, Mellor 1-3 0-2 2, Doering 0-0 0-0 0, Bruya 0-1 0-0 0, Shaw 3-9 10-10 16. Totals 9-41 13-16 31.
King's	10	5	10	3	--	28
Colfax	0	12	7	12	--	31
3-point goals--K 3-9 (Strand 2-3, Clauson 1-3, Thompson 0-1, Cutright 0-2), C 0-8 (Lazzarini 0-1, Largent 0-1, Harazin 0-1, Bruya 0-1, Shaw 0-2, Teade 0-2). Rebounds--K 35 (Clauson 9, Strand 7), C 29 (Harazin 7, Teade 6). Assists--K 8 (Strand 3), C 2. Steals--K 4 (Strand 2), C 12 (Mellor 4). Blocked shots--K 4 (Strand 2, Rowland 2), C 1. Fouled out--Clauson. Total fouls--K 13, C 15. Technical fouls--Shaw. Turnovers--K 25, C 16.