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The title is Catholic�����Ƶ�s first state crown since 2007.

Messer got the offense started early with eight points during the first quarter to help the Irish build an 18-8 lead.

Wheeling Central (23-3) led 4-2 with 5:49 to play in the first frame on a shot in the paint by Kaitlyn Blake, but Messer answered with a jump shot for two, followed by a 3-pointer that put Charleston Catholic in the lead for good.

Blake finished as the Knights�����Ƶ� top scorer with 14 points, but the senior forward said the defensive intensity by the Irish on Saturday increased a notch.

�����Ƶ�Every time I caught it, they sent three girls,�����Ƶ� Blake said.

�����Ƶ�The past two times, it was either two or they were late. They were definitely not late today.�����Ƶ�

Wheeling Central coach Roberta Olejasz said the physical defensive play from Catholic matched that of the two regular-season meetings won by the Maroon Knights. But on Saturday, that defense favored the Irish.

�����Ƶ�I thought Charleston Catholic defended us extremely well,�����Ƶ� Olejasz said. �����Ƶ�I said all along that if the game was in the 40s and 50s, it would be a grind. If we pick it up in the 60s and 70s at our pace, it would go much better for us.

�����Ƶ�It was physical all three times we played them; it just came down to, we didn�����Ƶ�t make shots.�����Ƶ�

Blake finished the game with eight rebounds and her layup with 3:33 to play in the first half gave her 2,000 points for her career, Olejasz said.

�����Ƶ�The other thing is she has never taken a 3-point shot,�����Ƶ� the coach said of Blake, who averaged 26.3 points in the three Maroon Knights games played at the state tournament.

For her efforts, Blake was named the Class AA state tournament�����Ƶ�s most valuable player by the West Virginia Sports Writers �����Ƶsociation.

Rushworth, who added a layup and free throw in the first period, scored seven points in the second quarter to help the Irish build their biggest lead of the first half to 13 points, 23-10.

Wheeling Central closed the gap to 28-22 at halftime, but Catholic let the Knights get no closer than four points during the second half. That was in large part due to the limited second-chance points Wheeling Central got despite a rebounding edge.

The Maroon Knights got six second-chance points in the game to Catholic�����Ƶ�s 13.

�����Ƶ�I thought our girls kinda came in today and were focused,�����Ƶ� Irish coach Wes Hevener said. �����Ƶ�I thought they came out from the opening tip and were extremely locked in.�����Ƶ�

Catholic handled its defensive assignments to near-perfection, Hevener said, while offensively, the ball movement by the Irish helped in creating open shots.

Aurelia Kirby gave the Irish some breathing room with a 3-pointer to close out the third period that made the score 41-34.

That advantage was short-lived, however, as Addie Payton�����Ƶ�s 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter brought the Knights back to within four.

Then Messer took over, scoring seven points during a 14-4 run by Catholic in the final period to help put the game away. Freshman Ali Wilcox made 5 of 6 foul shots in the final 1:16 to set the final score.

Messer, Rushworth and Wilcox were named to the all-tournament team from Charleston Catholic.

Other members of the Class AA all-tournament team were Brynnley Bulluck of St. Marys, Mya Dunlap of James Monroe and Seneca Heller and Payton of Wheeling Central.

CHARLESTON CATHOLIC 18 10 13 14 �����Ƶ� 55: Wilcox 2-7 5-6 11, Kirby 1-3 4-4 7, Evans 1-2 0-0 2, Rushworth 6-11 3-3 16, Messer 6-15 1-1 15, Aliff 2-7 0-2 4. Totals 18-45 13-16 55.

WHEELING CENTRAL 8 14 12 7 �����Ƶ� 43: Fitzsimmons 2-8 1-2 6, S. Heller 2-9 0-2 5, Payton 2-5 1-2 7, Blake 6-18 2-2 8, Maxwell 4-10 1-2 10. Totals 16-50 5-10 41.

3-point goals: Charleston Catholic 6-15 (Wilcox 2-3, Messer 2-9, Kirby 1-2, Rushworth 1-1), Wheeling. Central 4-14 (Fitzimmons 1-6, S. Heller 1-5, Payton 2-3). Rebounds: Charleston Catholic 29 (Rushworth 7, Messer 6, Evans 5, Aliff 4, Carter 3, Wilcox 2, Kirby 1), Wheeling Central 34 (Maxwell 10, Blake 8, Fitzsimmons 7, Severns 3, S. Heller 3).