It was any basketball player's dream, to play her best game in the biggest game of her career.
But for Seton-LaSalle's Yacine Diop, wearing a PIAA gold medal in Giant Center, it had become reality.
Diop had 23 rebounds, 10 points and six blocked shots in the Rebels' 58-50 win over Neumann-Goretti in the Class AA girls' championship game.
"I was dreaming about this," Diop said. "I've got to get it, the state championship."
The 5-10 senior forward made her defensive presence felt particularly in the second half, when she had five of her six blocked shots.
"Defensively, that the best game I ever played," Diop said. "But offense wasn't there."
Diop was 5-for-13 from the floor, but teammates Nicolete Newman and Cassidy Walsh took care of that with 17 and 11 points respectively.
But many of those points by her teammates came after one of Diop's 23 rebounds.
"Against a team like that, that is absurd," Seton-LaSalle head coach Spencer Stefko said. "Because they have three or four kids who can finish at the rim."
Diop expected a battle.
"It was actually a challenge because they are athletic, and they can jump," Diop said.
But Diop's defense inside kept Goretti from attacking the rim late in the game. Down 50-46, and then 52-46, in the last two minutes, the Saints did not attack the rim on three straight possessions. Instead, they settled for 3-point attempts, all of which were off the mark.
Goretti was 5-for-30 from beyond the arc.
Diop will be going to Pitt next year, as will her teammate Naje Gibson. Walsh, the Rebels' junior point guard, has also verbally committed to Pitt.
Walsh also had 11 rebounds, helping Seton-LaSalle to a 50-36 advantage on the boards.