Trailing by 13 late in the third quarter, Meadowbrook never lost hope and by doing so, it won a huge game. Kailey Devlin scored 24 of her season-high 34 points over the game’s final 14 minutes and the Lions defeated St. John Neumann, 57-47 in a riveting overtime thriller to capture the District 4 Class A championship.

It is the first district title for Meadowbrook (25-2) which also will be making its state tournament debut next Saturday when it likely hosts Harrisburg Christian. Audrey Millett pulled down 10 rebounds and Madalyn Fasnacht added eight points as Meadowbrook continued carving out quite a legacy.

“It’s a marker. It’s cool to say we did it and to see how far we can go,” Devlin said. “Nobody expected us to be here, so it’s not like we have to worry about not accomplishing something big.”

Like Meadowbrook, Neumann (16-9) also has made history and was playing in the final for the first time. The Knights ferociously competed all night and nearly had the title they have worked so hard to earn but were limited to 10 points the rest of the way after going ahead 37-24 with 3 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the third following Lily Reid’s offensive putback.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent St. John Neumann's Gigi Parlante goes for a layup against Meadowbrook Christian during Thursday's District 4 Class A championship.

Neumann players were understandably inconsolable following the game, but now have a new goal to pursue. The Knights are state tournament bound in consecutive years for the first time and likely will have a home game next Saturday against the loser for the District 2-11 championship between Nativity and Mountain View.

“It’s an emotional moment and we wanted to come out on top, but we’re not done. We have a lot of season left,” Neumann coach Helena Floyd said. “As a coach, you can’t complain about their effort. They never stopped playing hard. They never let up and that’s all I ask of them.”

Neumann forced 32 turnovers and threatened to blow things open early, taking a 10-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Meadowbrook, however, quickly was down 7-0 against North Penn-Liberty in the semifinals before quickly regrouping and taking the lead less than two minutes later. It was a similar story Thursday with the Lions moving ahead 16-15 entering the second quarter.

That first quarter sequence turned out to be a harbinger. Neumann overcame foul trouble to Reid and Gigi Parlante and went ahead 23-22 at halftime when Niyah Tutler (14 points) drained a long-range 3-pointer at the buzzer. Like they did against Lourdes in the semifinals, the Knights then started dominating in the second half.

Parlante made three of her eight steals and four players scored as Neumann went up, 37-24 and had Meadowbrook reeling. Parlante was a force for a second straight game, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds. Sheiana Tutler added nine points and 12 rebounds, while Lizzie Weller grabbed 11 rebounds.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent St. John Neumann's Gigi Parlante reacts with her silver medal after the Golden Knights fell to Meadowbrook Christian in the District 4 Class A championship game.

“At halftime I tried to encourage them and let them know, it’s one point but we’re up, so we have to build on that,” Floyd said. “And the third quarter we did.”

Just when it seemed like Meadowbrook would not be able to fight off the ropes, the feisty Lions started roaring back. Neumann had contained Devlin to that point, holding the 1,000-point scoring junior guard to 10 points. But when her team needed her the most Devlin took over.

The Knights had some excellent opportunities inside, but struggled to finish and Devlin scored the quarter’s final five points, making a last-second 3-point to cut it to 37-29. There was still a lot of work ahead, but the Lions were convinced they would find a way.

“That changed the momentum,” Devlin said. “It was like, ‘OK, we’ve got this now and we’ve got to gut it out no matter what. It was like, ‘We’re not losing this.'”

Neumann gave up nothing easy and was up 43-37 on a Sheiana Tutler putback with 3:30 remaining in regulation. Meadowbrook, however, forced turnovers on four straight possessions and Alayna Smith tied the game, 43-43 when Devlin found her inside. Neumann missed a free throw with 14.4 seconds remaining, but Weller pulled down the offensive board. Both the free throw, which went in and out, and the putback, which was about an inch from going in, came painfully close to giving Neumann the lead, but Devlin corralled the rebound.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent St. John Neumann's Lizzie Weller dribbles against Meadowbrook Christian in Thursday's District 4 Class A championship game.

Parlante knocked away a pass into the paint, preserving the tie and forcing overtime. There, Devlin was virtually unstoppable, scoring nine points. That included the first six. Parlante scored inside to pull Neumann within 49-45 but Meadowbrook iced the game at the foul line.

Devlin, who scored 24 points in the semifinals, went 14 of 16 from the field and line during the last 14 minutes when Meadowbrook came storming back.

“We were just playing our game. We stuck with our game plan,” Devlin said. “We’re not trying to be someone else. God gave it to us and we gave it back to him.”

Ella Ballard and Sophia Reid provided Neumann strong minutes off the bench during the first half. The Knights went 1 of 13 at the line and lost two starters to fouls but kept grinding and Niyah Tutler scoring the final five points had it feeling grateful to be ahead at halftime.

That’s the kind of fight Neumann is eager to show in states. Sheiana Tutler and Lily Reid were starters three years ago when the Knights won one game. Now they are headed to states for a second year after helping Neumann reach its first district final.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent St. John Neumann's Shanniyah Tutler reaches for a loose ball against Meadowbrook Christian in Thursday's District 4 Class A championship.

The bar has been raised and now the Knights have a shot to take it even higher.

“We proved a lot by making it this far, so it’s already another level we’ve gone up compared to last year. We take the small wins that we can right now,” Floyd said. “I told them there’s no reason to hang their heads because we’re not done. We’ve got more basketball to play.”

NEUMANN (47)

Sheiana Tutler 4 1-12 9, Gigi Parlante 5 4-7 14, Lizzie Weller 2 0-0 4, Lily Reid 2 0-0 4, Niyah Tutler 5 2-2 14, Ella Ballard 1 0-1 2, Sophia Reid 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-22 47.

MEADOWBROOK (57)

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent St. John Neumann's Shanniyah Tutler defends against a Meadowbrook Christian player during Thursday's District 4 Class A championship game.

Kailey Devlin 10 12-14 34, Alyssa Canelo 2 0-0 5, Madalyn Fasnacht 3 2-5 8, Audrey Millett 2 1-3 6, Alayna Smith 1 0-0 2, Kat Bennage 1 0-4 2. Totals 19 15-26 57.

3-pointers: Neumann 2 (N. Tutler 2); Meadowbrook 4 (Devlin 2, Canelo, Millett).

Records: Meadowbrook 25-2. Neumann 16-9.