WESTPHALIA - With neither team leading by more than five points the entire way, it came down to which team could make the big shot at the end.
The St. James Lady Tigers made theirs, while Blair Oaks' fell just short.
Livi Herron, a freshman, drained a 3-pointer from the corner for the final lead change with 22 seconds left.
Blair Oaks went to its leading scorer for the game, Mallorie Fick, for a final chance to tie it with :02.1 left.
St. James' Riley Whitener got a hand in Fick's sight and the shot from the wing came up shy of the rim to earn St. James a 48-45 win Saturday night in the Comet Classic championship game.
"We got an OK look. Odds are you're not gonna get a great one," Blair Oaks coach Darren Heckman said after the Lady Falcons' second single-digit defeat to the Lady Tigers this season. "We had a couple other options, but initially we're trying to get her through there. She got squared up, got a shot off."
After Herron's 3-pointer - just her second attempt of the game and only make - Blair Oaks turned it over as a long pass sailed too far and out of play.
Herron then made 1-of-2 at the free-throw line before Bailey Rissmiller got her chance at the line for Blair Oaks.
Neither shot went in, but Rissmiller got her own rebound and the Lady Falcons passed it around the perimeter to Lauren Strange for a 3 in the corner that bounced off the rim.
"I don't know how she got in there," Heckman said of Rissmiller's rebound. "She's gonna give you her effort all the time."
Kaitlyn Kolb grabbed the rebound off the 3-point attempt and Heckman called timeout to set up the final play.
St. James' largest lead came about 3:30 into the game when Whitener, who scored a game-high 19 points, got the first of her five 3s for a 7-2 edge.
Whitener made three of St. James' seven 3s in a 57-49 win Dec. 12 against Blair Oaks.
"They made their share again," Heckman said. "They made several the first time we played and then they made some big ones tonight, too."
The Lady Tigers were ahead 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, Blair Oaks took a 20-19 lead at halftime on a Madison Boessen free throw and the game entered the fourth tied at 35.
Blair Oaks' defense fueled a 6-1 run in a minute-and-a-half span early in the fourth quarter to lead 41-36.
A Kolb steal led to a Rissmiller floater. Soon after, Natalie Heckman chased after a wide pass and it led to a layup for Rissmiller.
Fick added a pair of free throws to give the Lady Falcons the five-point lead, their largest of the game, with 5:20 left.
Fick scored 13 points, while Alyssa Hargus and Rissmiller added nine points each.
Hannah Marcee added 14 points for St. James.
Kathleen Groner came off the bench to lead Blair Oaks with 10 rebounds. Hargus, a 5-foot-6 guard, added eight rebounds and Fick, a 5-7 guard, grabbed five boards.
"Our wings really do a pretty good job rebounding for us," Heckman said.
Groner, Strange, Boessen and Allison Siebeneck all played significant minutes with Blair Oaks finishing with 25 fouls.
"I think our bench has done a really good job at helping us," Heckman said.
Blair Oaks (7-7) will host Battle on Tuesday. The JV game will start at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow around 7:15 p.m.