CLARION — Nobody was happier to see zeros on the clock than Brookville girls basketball coach Mark Powell.

“We were definitely leaking oil there at the end,” he admitted.

But his Raiders held on to defeat Karns City, 46-39, Friday night in the District 9 Class 3A championship game at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium. The victory ended a string of four successive district titles by the Lady Gremlins.

But Brookville wound up holding on for dear life.

“We went down fighting. These girls haven't given up all year,” Karns City coach Steve Andreassi said.

Turnovers plagued the Gremlins all night. KC (12-11) fell behind 12-1 in the first five minutes, trailed 27-14 at halftime and 42-26 with six minutes left in the game.

A sudden 13-1 Karns City run — all 13 scored by senior Emily Hegedus — pulled the Gremlins within 44-39 with 1:48 remaining.

“Then we had the ball ... and we had the ball and we had the ball,” Andreassi said. “We had chances to get even closer, but we made mistakes on some of those possessions.”

Marcy Schindler sank two free throws for Brookville (18-5) with 21.9 seconds left to finally ice the win. The Raiders start four sophomores and a junior, and do not have a senior on their roster.

“We knew these girls were gonna be good and we've been working with them for a while,” Powell said. “I just didn't think it would happen this soon.

“Hard, pressure defense is what gets it done for us. That's our game and it paid off tonight. We haven't played in 15 days. That's a long time to prepare for one game. We were ready.”

Karns City turned the ball over 31 times, including 20 times in the first half. The Gremlins were able to attempt just nine shots from the field in the first two quarters.

“We knew that pressure was coming. We just didn't handle it well,” Andreassi said. “We're gonna have to work on getting ready for it in the future.

“That team is younger than we are.”

And KC will not have Hegedus next season.

She wound up with 29 points and eight rebounds. Hegedus scored 20 of her 20 points in the second half.

“Emily is a tremendous player,” Powell said. “You're not going to stop her, you can only hope to contain her. We did that for the better part of three quarters.

“Then my biggest fear happened. She started taking the game over. The girl is incredible. It was a privilege to coach against her.”

Hegedus ended her career with 1,735 points. She averaged 25.6 points this season.

Livia Andreassi had five points, Alyssa Stitt three steals and three assists for KC.

“Emily is going to be a great college basketball player somewhere. She hasn't decided on where that is yet,” Andreassi said. “Her effort and determination were tireless all year. The other players fed off that attitude and followed it.

“She was the best player on the floor in pretty much every game this year.

Morgan Johnson had 12 points and five rebounds for Brookville. Schindler had 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals while Lauren Hergert contributed 10 points four rebounds and four steals.

KARNS CITY 39

Alyssa Stitt 1-2 0-0 3, Madison Kelly 0-0 0-00, Emily Hegedus 9-20 11-17 29, Olivia Mourer 1-3 0-0 2, Sara Knox 0-0 0-1 0, Livia Andreassi 0-4 5-5 5. Totals: 11-29 16-23 39.

BROOKVILLE 46

Marcy Schindler 3-9 4-5 10, Morgan Johson 5-15 0-1 12, Madison Johnson 3-13 0-3 6, Lexi Hartzinikolas 2-3 0-0 4, Kira Powell 2-10 0-0 4, Jillian Taylor 0-3 0-0 90, Lauren Hergert 4-11 2-4 10, Leah Kammerdeiner 0-1 0-0 0, Madison McAninch 0-1 0-0 0, Jenna Grant 0-0 0-0 0. Totals:19-66 6-13 46.

Karns City 4 10 9 16 — 39

Brookville12 15 11 8 — 46

3-point goals: Stitt; Mo.Johnson 2