INDIANAPOLIS — As the lights came up and the players began taking their positions ahead of Saturday's IHSAA girls basketball Class 4A state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Lawrence Central juniors Laila Abdurraqib and Jaylah Lampley, and sophomore Lola Lampley, each took their turn talking with Mariah Kenter Garrett.

Each player placed their hands on her shoulders and said a few words before wrapping the sophomore in a hug.

"It was just a little stage fright, so we just told her, 'We got this. Just relax,'" Jaylah Lampley said. "We were all just as nervous, playing in front of a big crowd — it was just a little bit of anxiety. And now you see, she was the one who started our energy with her great defense."

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"Yeah, we were all nervous," Lola Lampley added. "We were just as nervous, but take that and turn it into adrenaline. She did that."

Widely heralded as the team's defensive stopper (and the shortest player on the roster at 5-4), Garrett breathed life into the Bears offense following a lackluster start. Her jumper plus a three-point play trimmed Lake Central's lead to two 90 seconds into the second quarter.

What followed felt familiar: An awe-inspiring offensive onslaught that flipped Saturday's season finale on its head. Lawrence Central parlayed Garrett's five-point spurt into a 19-0 run that spanned through halftime, then reached 30-5 as the game dragged into the fourth quarter.

It was mesmerizing, a demonstration of dominance by the unquestioned top dog in the state of Indiana.

Final score: Lawrence Central 55, Lake Central 28.

It's the first state championship in program history for Lawrence Central, which becomes the first team to win 30 games since 2015 3A champion Princeton and the first 4A team to do so since 2009 state champ Ben Davis.

The 28 points allowed are the fewest in 4A finals history.

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"This is unbelievable, honestly," Abdurraqib said. "I never imagined it would feel like this — I don't know what I imagined it would feel like — but it feels so great. I love to be here, making history. We're just blessed to be here."

This will probably qualify as an odd (and extremely niche) bit of trivia in a few years, but it actually took Lawrence Central six minutes to score its first field goal, with the Bears logging three times as many turnovers (six) as field goal attempts (two).

Nerves were a factor, the Lampley sisters agreed, but Abdurraqib — because who else would it be — got the team at least pointed in the right direction with a jumper at the 2:06 mark to cut the score to 6-2.

Abdurraqib, a junior point guard, finished with just four points, but raked in seven rebounds, dished out five assists and came up with a couple steals.

"Laila is like oxygen to the brain for them," Lake Central coach Joe Huppenthal said. "I know you have the Lampleys — and they're amazing — but that girl deserves a lot of credit, because the film I watched, (Abdurraqib) scared us."

Lake Central answered Lawrence Central's initial salvo with a 3-pointer, but an Aniyah McKenzie layup off an offensive rebound set up Garrett's five-point run a few minutes later.

As Lawrence Central's shooters began finding their rhythm, the defense began ratcheting up the pressure forcing eight turnovers and holding their opponent scoreless for nearly 10 minutes. By the time Lake Central scored its next bucket — an Ayla Krygier 2 — the lead had ballooned to 16.

Seven different players scored for Lawrence Central by night's end, led by Jaylah Lampley, who tallied 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a steal, and Lola Lampley and McKenzie, who both posted 12 points apiece, plus eight and nine rebounds, respectively.

It was understood going in the Bears would have a significant length advantage, and it translated to a 39-19 advantage on the glass, with Lawrence Central generating 23 second chance points off 13 offensive rebounds.

It out-scored the Indians 51-19 after the first quarter.

"As soon as we took that first swing, we (settled down)," Lola said. "We had to go back out there, we knew the mentality and we had to go get it."

"We knew Lake Central was going to throw the first punch, Riley Milausnic and Aniyah Bishop are really good seniors, so we had to come out, take the punch and swing back," Jaylah added.

Saturday's season finale provided an appropriately dominating finish to what could be the birth of a dynasty at Lawrence Central, which is set to return its entire lineup — led by a couple early Miss Basketball candidates in Jaylah Lampley and Abdurraqib.

The run is made even more remarkable considering Lawrence Central was 12-11 a couple years ago and had not won a sectional game since 2001 entering this season. The 2023-24 Bears went undefeated against in-state competition and cleared a state tournament path highlighted by rival Lawrence North (sectional semifinals), Plainfield (semistate semifinals) and Center Grove (semistate championship game).

Asked to reflect on how far this program's come since her freshman year, Abdurraqib replied: "This is amazing. … We just made history."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girls basketball: Lawrence Central wins 4A state championship