CLARION — Saturday's District 9 Class AA girls basketball title game had turned into a war of attrition.

Then through the haze of missed shots and turnovers came Karns City's Emily LoPresti.

The Gremlins had scored just two points in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, they held an uneasy seven-point lead over Redbank Valley.

That's when LoPresti reeled off seven points in a span of a little more than a minute as Karns City claimed its second straight district championship with a 43-27 win at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium.

The much-needed boost began with LoPresti's steal and layup that gave KC a 32-23 edge with 5:45 left. She managed 12 points and eight steals in the game, both team highs.

“She's a soccer player and has quick feet,” said Gremlins' coach Dave Kerschbaumer. “She picks her spots and goes. It led to several big turnovers for us.”

LoPresti added a 3-pointer and another basket that pushed her team's lead to 12 points. The Bulldogs (18-7) never threatened again.

“We needed to get going on offense,” LoPresti said. “Sometimes, all it takes is one basket to do that.”

The Gremlins (22-3) forced 20 first-half turnovers and were up 27-15 at the break. But the third period brought a 1-of-14 shooting performance from the field. The Bulldogs didn't fare much better, scoring just eight points in that span. But the defensive effort gave the Bulldogs hope with one quarter to play.

“We got close, but just ran out of gas,” said Redbank Valley coach Amy Twigg. “This (gym) is a big place, it's a bigger court. I think jitters caused us to make a lot of bad passes.”

Redbank Valley's Brooke Hinderliter led all scorers with 13 points. She entered the game averaging 21 per contest.

“We knew Brooke would score some points,” said Kerschbaumer, “but we wanted to confuse the other four enough to make them hesitate. Great teams beat great players.”

LeeAnn Gibson scored 11 points for KC and Shanel Preston tallied 10.

For Karns City, it is the 12th District 9 title in program history.

Being the defending champs this season didn't make things any easier on the Gremlins.

“We didn't want to get big heads,” LoPresti said. “We knew teams would be gunning for us, but we didn't let that get to us.”

“Different things come up every year,” said Kerschbaumer. “Things like injuries. They popped up this season, but the kids battled through it.”

Karns City meets Burrell, the fourth-place team from the WPIAL, in the PIAA playoffs Friday at Clarion High School.

REDBANK VALLEY 27

Megan Bain 3 0-0 6, Cassie Fink 1 0-0 2, Becca Dougherty 0 2-2 2, Brooke Hinderliter 5 3-3 13, Sam Landers 0 1-2 1, Kaelyn Gruver 1 1-3 3, Macy King 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 7-10 27.

KARNS CITY 43

Alyssa Gibson 0 2-2 2, Emily Hegedus 2 2-4 6, Abby Wolfe 0 2-2 2, Emily LoPresti 5 1-2 12, LeeAnn Gibson 3 4-9 11, Shanel Preston 4 0-0 10, Saydie Moore 0 0-0 0, LeErin Jones 0 0-0 0, Annie Hegedus 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Craig 0 0-0 0, Clara Stoughton 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 11-19 43.

Redbank Valley 4 11 8 4 — 27

Karns City15 12 2 14 — 43

3-point goals: Redbank Valley (none); Karns City 4 (Preston 2, L. Gibson, LoPresti).

Friday: Karns City vs. Burrell, PIAA Class AA, Clarion High School, 7 p.m.