Nothing came easy for Seton Catholic throughout this season.

Winning so many titles gave the impression that it did.

On Saturday, Seton Catholic battled, it seemed, for 12 rounds to earn its 12th ring.

Salpointe Catholic put up a fight in the 4A girls basketball final at Saint John Paul II High School in Avondale. But Seton Catholic made its shots and free throws to earn the 70-62 win.

“It hit me like a truck when the game was over,” Seton Catholic coach Karen Self said. “At the very end, when we won, I just burst into tears, because it’s been a very long journey with so many ups and downs, starts and stops. COVID outbreaks. Our boys team had one. Is it going to affect us?

“To finish this thing with a state championship it feels so amazing.”

Clinging to a 52-50 lead, Seton Catholic scored the rest of its points from the charity stripe during the final 3:44.

It converted 14 of 22 free throws during that stretch and 17 of 24 in the game. From the field, Self’s squad shot 50 percent and 69.2 (9 for 13) from beyond the arc, with Lexi McNabb (21 points) making five big threes.

Amanda Barcello (23 points) was 7 for 9 from the field, 10 of 12 from the free throw line and grabbed key offensive rebounds down the stretch.

“Of course there were nerves, but knowing that in the end all we had to do was to show that we had it,” Barcello said. “That took our bench cheering for us. It took our fans cheering for us. And that took each and every one of our players picking each other up.”

Salpointe was active on both ends of the court with its match-up zone and dribble drive penetration.

It trailed by 11 with 3:11 left in the third quarter but Salpointe’s Jaya Nelson (23 points) sparked a 7-0 run to get her team back in the game.

“We knew it was going to be a knock out, drag out fight,” Self said.

It was from the opening bell.

Medina’s six steals and Kylee Callahan’s 14 points also had a hand in keeping Salpointe in the game. But every time it got close, Seton Catholic countered.

In the first half, Jamie Gilliam made her only basket of the game count. She hit a trey before the buzzer sounded, sending Seton Catholic to the second quarter with some momentum and a 15-13 lead.

Seton Catholic converted five of their seven shots beyond the arc and shot 48 percent in the first half. McNabb converted three of those treys, two from the same spot on the left side of the court.

Salpointe, which appeared in just its second championship game, finished with a 19-2 record under first year coach Joseph Luevano. Seton Catholic wrapped up its season at 20-2.

“Each one of our kids did their part, and collectively that got it done,” Self said.