DES MOINES - Tom Lilly hugged Kayla Armstrong and Sarah Dickes for so long Saturday night it seemed like he might never let go.

All three of them embraced tightly, smiled some of the happiest smiles you've ever seen and fought back tears of sheer delight.

Armstrong, the All-American girl, turned in another sensational performance and scored the winning basket with nine seconds left as Xavier edged Harlan, 53-52, for the Class 4A state basketball title at Wells Fargo Arena.

A few seconds later after making the biggest field goal of her life, Armstrong tipped the ball away from Harlan's Taylor Wagner with skin-tight defense and Dickes grabbed the loose ball for the biggest steal of their lives.

The final horn sounded and the Saints had captured their fourth state title since 2003.

"We did it!" exclaimed Armstrong. "All the hard work we put in all four years, all the summer work, all the extra work on Saturdays. It finally paid off."

Armstrong scored a career-best 23 points and was named the captain of the Class 4A all-tournament team, giving her a rare double in the history of IGHSAU sports. She also was named captain of the all-tournament soccer team last year when the Saints won their seventh state soccer title in a row.

Xavier shot miserably from 3-point range (1 for 12), missed more free throws than it made (8 of 17) and got pounded on the backboards (45-29). You almost wonder how they won.

"Kayla Armstrong," said Lilly, answering the question. "I just think the kid decided she wasn't going to let this thing go away."

Armstrong finished with 23 points, six steals, three rebounds and two assists in the state finals. It came on the heels of her sensational performance in the semifinals against top-ranked Sioux City Heelan when she collected 22 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

She shot 9 for 11 against Heelan, then hit 10 of 12 against Harlan with a series of layups and medium-range jumpers over Harlan's zone defense. All told, Armstrong made 21 of 26 shots in the state tournament and finished with 49 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and 11 steals in three games.

"Pretty impressive," said Lilly.

Wagner gave Harlan a 52-51 lead with a hard-driving layup with 18 seconds left in the hectic game and it looked like Xavier's date with destiny might be cancelled, but the Saints had a 5-foot-7 senior with a big heart on their side.

The Saints advanced quickly up the court and Armstrong got the ball on the left wing. She surveyed the scene for a second and headed for the basket, just like she did repeatedly in Des Moines.

"I saw a gap up the middle," she explained. "I just had to go to the basket or try to draw a foul."

There were three Cyclones between her and the hoop, including 6-foot-1 center Jess Schaben with her long arms and four blocked shots, but Armstrong was not going to be denied.

"All I saw was the basket," said Armstrong. "She (Schaben) blocked several shots all game. She's very good about that. I just had to get it."

She almost made it sound simple.

"She decided she was going to figure it out and make some twisting, contortionist shot over a 6-1 kid," said Lilly. "Impressive."

Armstrong averaged a modest 6.9 points during the regular season, but she became the star of stars in Des Moines.

"Coach and Sarah (Dickes) and all my teammmates have talked to me," she said. "I knew it was now or never."

Some players might have dawdled and admired their clutch go-ahead basket in the final seconds, but not Armstrong. She immediately attached herself to Wagner, Harlan's primary ballhandler, as Wagner dribbled up the court.

Armstrong pestered Wagner every step of the way and finally got her hand on the ball near midcourt. "A fingertip. A fingernail," she said.

Wagner lost control and the ball rolled free. Dickes raced over and grabbed it. And that was that.

"As soon as I saw Kayla get a hand on that ball and there was a loose ball, I knew I was going for that with everything I had," said Dickes, who got her fifth steal on the play.  "She (Armstrong) did a great job of making that girl uncomfortable and getting her to give it up, and I had to get that ball for my team."

There were 14 lead changes and six ties in the taut ballgame. Harlan dropped back in a zone defense and dared the Saints to beat them from the outside, and the strategy almost worked.

"I thought Harlan had a good game plan," said Lilly. "They knew we would probably be hesitant to shoot from the perimeter, which I think we were. That caused slight hesitation, and slight hesitation leads to misses."

Morgan Breitbach, a 43.9 percent foul shooter during the regular season, canned two free throws to give Xavier a 51-50 lead with 48.1 seconds left. Wagner gave Harlan its 52-51 lead, and then Armstrong delivered the biggest basket of her basketball career.

"Our kids are not intimidated by much," said Lilly. "If they were, they wouldn't sing in public. They're a fun bunch."

And now they are state champions.

Ashley Stulken aided the cause with 13 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots despite missing several shots near the basket.

Xavier finished the season with a modest 17-9 record, but the Saints won three straight in Des Moines to earn a handsome award for their trophy case.

Wagner topped Harlan (23-3) with 16 points, but committed 10 turnovers. Schaben scored 13 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. Taylor Frederick had 10 points.

HARLAN (52): Riessen 0 0-0 0, Havick 0 0-0 0, Wagner 6 2-5 16, Kloewer 2 0-0 4, Esser 2 0-0 4, Schaben 5 3-5 13, Leinen 0 0-0 0, Moser 1 3-4 5, Swanson 0 0-0 0, Frederick 4 2-5 10. Totals 20 10-19 52.

XAVIER (53): Armstrong 10 3-6 23, Deutmeyer 2 1-2 6, S.Dickes 0 0-0 0, Bertsch 1 1-2 3, Stulken 6 1-5 13, Breitbach 1 2-2 4, J.Dickes 0 0-0 0, Watson 0 0-0 0, Andersen 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 8-17 53.

Halftime - Harlan 28, Xavier 16. 3-point goals - Harlan 2 (Wagner 2), Xavier 1 (Deutmeyer).