After watching Fort Thomas score the first six points of the third period and take the lead 23-22, Gilbert Christian decided it was not going to allow the Apaches the momentum to pull off an upset.

With senior Molly Van Rijn leading a late charge in the third period, the Knights wrapped up their second 1A girls basketball title in three years with a 44-31 victory over Fort Thomas at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley.

The victory was the third in as many tries for Gilbert Christian (27-2) over Fort Thomas (22-8) this season. The two prior victories wre by margins of seven and three. Fort Thomas was bidding for its first title since 2006. Gilbert Christian won the 1A title in 2009 when the school was named Surrey Garden.

"We played solid defense the entire game,"  Gilbert Christian coach Daryl Young said. "To hold them to 31 points when they'd been averaging around 50 was a good effort."

Van Rijn scored seven successive points late in the third period through the first basket in the fourth quarter to spark a 9-0 run that gave Gilbert Christian a 36-26 lead a minute into the final period. Gilbert Christian turned up the defensive pressure after Fort Thomas 6-0 run to begin the second half and held the Apaches to just eight points through the final 14 minutes.

Van Rijn finished with a game-high 16 points. Twelve of those were in the game's final 10 minutes. Shaniah Dona, who tried to lead Fort Thomas from behind with her aggressive moves to the basket, led the Apaches with 11 points.

Van Rijn capped her day about an hour later by winning the 1A girls 3-point shootout at halftime of the 1A boys title game.