Avery Marchino lightly tossed the ball in the air as time expired in Bethany’s Class 4A state title game Saturday, and the celebration was on.

A few players formed a circle at midcourt, then every other member of the team dashed to join them.

The Bronchos went on to form a dog pile, and their joy was well-warranted.

Not only did Bethany beat Tulsa Lincoln Christian 48-36. The Bronchos also made school history, claiming their first-ever girls basketball state championship.

“It’s unbelievable,” Bethany coach Eric Sailer said. “I’m so tired, but I’m just running on fumes. That’s what the game of basketball is all about. Peaks and valleys and just pushing through.”

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Bethany (29-1) dominated Lincoln Christian.

With OU commit Keziah Lofton and Kayten Donley leading the way, the Bronchos led 18-3 at the end of the first quarter and remained in control throughout the game.

Lofton finished with 21 points and seven rebounds and made 7 of 12 shots.

“Keziah is the type of kid that isn’t going to take no for an answer,” Sailer said. “She’s met with adversity every day that she steps out on the court. People are gunning for her. She answers the call every time.”

Donley was efficient as she hit 7 of 8 shots and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

She played a clean game and so did the rest of the team.

“We were fine,” Lofton said. “We just knew we had to play together. We play our best when everyone is scoring and we’re not rushing things and our defense is good.”

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Bethany got a lot of support from its fans throughout the state tournament, including Saturday.

The Bronchos were chasing school history, and the community rallied behind them.

“It was amazing,” Lofton said. “I don’t think we would have done it without everybody coming out tonight. We played Tuttle yesterday and the crowd was crazy at Yukon. It was so packed. And it was the same tonight.”

Sailer added, "That's something special. Just gives you that extra energy, that extra motivation to get up even though you're tired, to get up when you're knocked down and to go compete for these families."

Lincoln Christian finished the year with a 27-2 record.

Maddi Stewart led the team with 12 points. Adyson Roberts was second with nine.

Reporter Nick Sardis covers high school sports across the Oklahoma City metro and state. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nick_sardis. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at oklahoman.com/subscribe or by using the link at the top of this page.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSSAA girls basketball: Bethany beats Lincoln Christian for 4A title