By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

HUTCHINSON -- They didn't have to work overtime this time around, but they sure had to work hard.

The Thomas More Prep-Marian girls won their first state basketball championship Saturday by holding off a determined Marion team, 56-45, in the Class 3A title game at the Sports Arena.

That gave the three seniors on the team -- Kaylee Hoffman, Sophia Schippers and Jessa Stramel -- the third state title in their decorated athletic careers.

That trio also helped TMP-Marian win state softball titles their freshman and sophomore years.

"What a fantastic tribute to our seniors," said TMP-Marian coach Alan Billinger, who also coaches the school's softball team. "They've worked really hard to get to this point."

The Monarchs (25-1) won a school-record 24th straight game in getting by Marion for the second time this season.

The first time the two teams met, in the semifinals of a midseason tournament at Hillsboro, it took an overtime period for the Monarchs to beat the Warriors.

Marion wouldn't go away quietly Saturday, either, even when TMP-Marian built leads by as much as eight points twice in the second quarter.

Both times, Marion senior Julia Zeiner hit buckets to keep the Warriors close.

But Zeiner, who scored 10 points in the first half, picked up her third foul with two minutes before intermission and scored just two points in the second half.

The Monarchs led 25-19 at halftime before senior Kayley Heerey hit two 3-pointers in the third period to help lead an Warrior comeback.

Marion tied the game at 33-33 with about two minutes left in the third but never got the lead.

Sophomore Rachel Jacobs and her teammates made sure of that.

Jacobs, who led the Monarchs in scoring for the third consecutive day, scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the fourth period, including four crucial free throws down the stretch.

Jacobs finished the season hitting 86.5 percent from the free-throw line, including a 21-of-23 effort (91 percent) in the state tournament.

For the third straight game, the Monarchs hit their free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.

After Zeiner hit a bucket at the 2:22 mark to pull Marion to within two, 44-42, Schippers hit a trey -- her third of the game -- to push the lead back to five.

"I think that's the most athletic team we've played all year long," Billinger said. "But our kids really responded to the challenge."

TMP-Marian then hit 9-of-10 free throws the rest of the way while limiting Marion (20-6) to three points.

Stramel hit 8-of-9 free throws for the game and finished her final prep game with 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

Hoffman, playing with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee that will require surgery this week, finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

And Schippers closed out her career with nine points, five rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Sophomore Jenna Lang hit just one bucket for the game, but it might have been the biggest of her career.

With her team holding onto a one-point lead and trying to hold off a surging Marion squad with nearly three minutes left in the game, Lang canned a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead back to four, 44-40.

"Jenna will surprise you sometimes," Billinger said of Lang, who gave the Monarchs some quality minutes especially when starters got in foul trouble. "That (3-pointer) was huge."

The veterans took it from there.

A few seconds later, Schippers hit her trey, and starters Jacobs and Stramel combined for nine free throws the rest of the way.

The senior-dominated Marion team, with five senior starters, was led by Zeiner's 12 points, while classmates Heerey and Lindsay Hett added 11 and 10 points, respectively.