La Salle proved why it was awarded the No. 1 seed in the girls’ basketball state tournament on Saturday, as the Rams’ defense and balanced scoring attack sent them past East in the Final Four, 51-37.

Despite getting a game-high 18 points and six 3s from junior guard McKenzie Richards, the ’Bolts just couldn’t overcome La Salle’s intense full-court press. The Rams implemented the press early and sustained it for the entirety of the game, repeatedly forcing East into turnovers and translating those mishaps into points on the other end.

East had nothing to be ashamed of, though. It cut La Salle’s lead to as little as five in the second half, and gave the state’s best team all it could handle.

“We worked on the press break all week knowing that it was going to be key,” East head coach Lloyd Bochner said. “My girls battled. We threw every defense we had at them. I’m just really proud of them. The La Salle coach told me that this was the best anyone has played them this season, and I don’t think he was blowing smoke. I’m super proud of the effort.”

East came out with confidence in the first half, as Richards got a 3 to go down in the first minute to give the ’Bolts a quick, 3-0 lead. That would provide a bit of foreshadowing of what was to come for Richards on the afternoon.

The Rams would respond with an 11-3 run after that, but the ’Bolts weren’t ready to go away quietly.

Kyla DePina drove the lane for a layup to cut the deficit to three, before Richards drained her second 3 of the half, tying the game at 11 and causing Rams’ head coach Sean Reddy to take a timeout.

The timeout paid dividends for the Rams, who regrouped and finished the half on a 15-4 run from that point.

Senior point guard Sloane Heterick furthered La Salle’s momentum with a lay-in just before the buzzer to give the Rams a 26-15 lead at the break.

Richards continued her hot shooting in the second half, knocking down four 3-pointers, including one with 13:13 left that cut the ’Bolts’ deficit to 26-21.

The Rams pushed their lead back out to 11 under the five-minute mark, but Richards responded with her sixth 3 to trim the Rams’ lead to single digits, 38-30.

An offensive rebound and layup from Maia Caito helped the deficit stay at eight a minute later and, with two minutes left, she spun off a defender for an easy deuce to cut La Salle’s lead to seven, 41-34.

However, East wouldn’t get any closer than that.

Allyson Desrosiers and Isabella Folgo responded with buckets on back-to-back trips down the stretch, while key free throws from Heterick also helped La Salle clinch the win.

“We don’t have a deep bench, so physically and mentally we stayed in it as long as we could,” Bochner said. “McKenzie was lights out and that was against man-to-man defense, so that’s not easy. But people know we gave them a game.”

La Salle would go on to take care of business in the final on Sunday against South Kingstown, capturing the state championship with a 45-37 victory.

“He probably played 12 kids, so it’s constant pressure,” Bochner said of La Salle. “It’s hard to play against that. We were prepared for the press and did our best against it, but sometimes the better team just wins.”

Although making it to The Ryan Center was unfamiliar territory for the ’Bolts, they’re hoping they’ll be back in the near future and, next time, they’ll know what’s required to take the next step.

East will return four of its five starters next winter, with Sarah Coutu, Caito, Richards and Tatyana Correia all returning, while DePina will graduate.

With the core coming back, this year’s deep run through the state tournament should certainly benefit the returners next season.

“La Salle has won 11 championships since ’99, and this was a brand new experience for us,” Bochner said. “But this was a great experience and, if they want it [next season], they can go get it. We’re definitely excited to have the core of our team back next season.”