BLOOMINGTON - The showdown between unbeaten basketball powers turned into a showcase for what Debbie Coffman calls a "special" team. Her top-seeded and No. 3-state ranked Central Catholic High School girls demolished Brimfield, 60-36, in the small-school final of the 30th State Farm Holiday Classic Tuesday at Shirk Center. | Tournament photo gallery | Box scores, schedules and stats

Coffman, in her 11th season, said she hasn't had a team with the quality, depth and shooting ability of this group.

"They remind me a lot of the (Central Catholic state champion) football team," she said. "You looked out on the field and they had every spot filled and that's the same way we are."

Many expected a closer game as third-seeded Brimfield and 6-foot-3 Division I prospect Paige Spietz came in 18-0 and ranked ninth in the state in Class 1A.

But it was not to be after the Saints (14-0) broke away from a 9-9 tie with a 13-2 run. They ended up forcing 21 turnovers and limiting the Indians to 35 percent shooting.

"I expected it to be a really close game because those girls are really good, Paige is really tall and their guards are both really solid players," said Saint guard Allie Norton, who joined teammate Jess Reinhart on the all-tournament team.

Reinhart scored a game-high 15 points to go with seven rebounds while Norton had 10 points.

The wonderfully mobile Spietz, a unanimous all-tourney pick with Norton, was held to seven points, seven rebounds and five blocks while fellow all-tourney pick Kelsey Herridge, who is approaching 1,000 career points, was held to seven points.

The senior-less Indians, who were led by Micalena Shipley's eight points, were within 31-23 midway through the third quarter when Central made a 14-0 run to end the suspense.

"I'll take a runner-up finish to Central Catholic about any day," said Brimfield coach Jim Blane. "They are an awesome team."

The Indians committed three or more turnovers during three of their scoring droughts.

"They play in-your-face defense," Spietz said. "They are really good on the perimeter about trapping. They put a lot of pressure on our guards."

"It is a hard press to break," Blane said. "You have to be patient."

Central exhibited its trademark depth as 10 players scored including Danielle Highland and Carly Norton, who had eight apiece.

"That's how our team plays," Reinhart said. "We have a deep bench. We don't just depend on two or three people."

Central's four 3-pointers gave it a record 23 for the tournament. Meanwhile, Brimfield extended its string of games with a 3-pointer to 121, the third longest in state history. The Indians return to Bloomington Jan. 10 to face Ridgeview at 1 p.m. at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

And what's next for Central?

"We do want an undefeated record and we do want to win state," Allie Norton said.

McNamara takes third: No. 4-seeded Kankakee McNamara topped Tolono Unity, 39-26, for third.

Martin all-tournament: Joining those mentioned above on the all-tourney squad were Olympia's Courtney Martin and Sterling Newman's Michele Salvatori.