With the championship on the line and the clock ticking down, the Zachary Broncos placed the game in the hands of their senior leader.

Zachary trailed Slidell by one point with just 16.5 seconds remaining when head coach Tami McClure called a timeout and turned to star senior Ava Raymond for the final play.

"This woman was the only one who was going to get that ball at the end," McClure said. "I said, 'Go get it.'"

Raymond did exactly that.

After receiving the ball, she pushed up the floor, beat a defender at the perimeter and drove into the lane before lifting a floater over the defense. The shot dropped through the net, giving the Broncos a thrilling 53-52 victory and securing their second consecutive Division I Non-Select state championship Saturday night at the University Center in Hammond.

"We're going to win," McClure said when she saw Raymond get the ball at the end. "She was not going to leave this gym without a win."

Raymond capped her senior performance with a dominant stat line, finishing with 27 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

"It's my senior year, so of course I'm going to go out with a bang," Raymond said. "I just had (a lot) of confidence."

The Broncos' championship run this season has been defined by a simple theme: unflappable. That mentality was tested throughout the title game as Zachary spent much of the night trying to claw its way back.

The Broncos held a narrow 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Slidell answered with momentum in the second. The Tigers used an 8-0 run to take control, highlighted by consecutive steals and layups from Madyson Parker that pushed the lead to double digits.

Zachary responded late in the half thanks to sophomore Kennedi Whitfield, who provided a spark with five straight points in the final minute. Whitfield scored on a layup and then converted a three-point play during a fast break to cut the deficit in half.

Despite the late push, Slidell carried a 25-20 lead into halftime.

The Tigers quickly regained control in the third quarter, opening the half with a 7-2 run to stretch the lead back to 10 points. McClure responded with a key defensive adjustment, switching the Broncos to a half-court trapping defense that began to shift momentum.

"We had to go to something else," McClure said. "Our team's very athletic and quick, and we needed to take advantage of that."

The change paid off as Zachary began forcing turnovers and creating transition opportunities. Raymond took over offensively during the stretch, attacking the rim and scoring 10 points in the third quarter alone.

The Broncos closed the period on an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to just two points, trailing 39-37 entering the final quarter.

"It's not over," Raymond said was her message to her team during their comeback. "I kept telling them, 'let's finish, we got this,' and they picked it up."

The fourth quarter remained tight throughout as Slidell continued to answer every Zachary push. With two minutes remaining, Whitfield banked in a putback layup to bring the Broncos within three.

Moments later, Raymond made another huge play, stealing the ball at midcourt and racing to the basket for a layup that trimmed the deficit to one point.

Zachary continued to apply pressure defensively. Ava Bell came up with a crucial steal and was fouled with 27.8 seconds remaining. She converted one of two free throws to tie the game.

Slidell briefly regained the lead with a free throw on the next possession, setting up one final opportunity for the Broncos.

That's when Raymond delivered the moment that sealed the championship, driving through the defense and finishing with the game-winning basket in the closing seconds.

"These girls just never give up," McClure said. "They fought to the bitter end."