It had been tight, tense and a little nervy for two and a-half quarters, in which nothing separated the students and South Pac Magic.
Then Varsity ignited, and an 18-2 run essentially put the Dunedin women's club basketball final to bed as they soared to a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Magic fought back, but it was too much to overcome.
Varsity won 56-52, defending the title they won from Ajax a year ago.
They were spurred on by finals MVP Legacy Harrison. The guard dropped 22 points, showing her all-round class in using her feet to score at the hoop, as well as pouring in shots from deep.
She had nine of the 18 points in Varsity's game-winning run, while also have a prominent patch through a tight second quarter.
Sophie Adams was also key in the late run and added nine points, while Leila Anesi had eight.
For the South Pac Magic it was duo Shanti Kara and Tia Pavihi that did much of the damage.
They had 19 and 14 points respectively, capping what has been exceptional seasons from both.
However, it was not enough to overcome the Varsity mini onslaught.
Little separated the teams up until that point.
Varsity took a 13-12 lead to the first break, as a nervy start from both teams made points hard to come by for the first five minutes.
Harrison came into the game in the second quarter, scoring eight points in that quarter and giving Varsity the slightest leg up.
Pavihi was up to the challenge to ensure they did not get away, though.
She matched the dangerous Varsity guard to keep the students' halftime lead to 28-24.
The Magic reeled that back in straight after the break.
Fay Fualau got to the hoop, before a Josephine Ripley free throw was followed by a triple from Kara, taking the Magic to a 30-28 lead.
But they could not get away.
The lead changed hands several times through a tense third quarter.
Kara finished a tough layup with her left and followed it up with a transition layup to take the Magic to a 38-35 lead.
At that point their offence flatlined, though. And Varsity pounced.
Thaya Shaw hit a three-pointer to ignite the students, before Harrison hit one of her own.
It was the beginning of the landslide, Varsity scoring freely on either side of the break.
More importantly, it was seven game-clock minutes until the Magic scored another field goal, their sole two points coming via the free throw line.
It left the score at 53-40 and it was too much to haul in.
The Magic mounted a 9-0 run over their own, and got back to 55-52 with 11 seconds remaining, but Adams hit a free throw to close the game out for Varsity.
• Tyler Mitchell (University), Fay Faulau-Searle (South Pac Magic), Alexa Duff (Andy Bay Falcons), Sammy Gallaher (Ajax) and Tia Pavihi (South Pac Magic) were named in the all-star five.
