(Dobson won the Division I title Monday. Photo by Jim Willittes/maxpreps.com)

Dobson coach Tyer Dumas said during a couple of interviews leading up to the Division I championship game that his team kept knocking at the doorstep of a state championship game appearance in recent years.

On Monday, Duma’s team knocked the door down, with his seniors leading the charge against favorite Goodyear Millennium. Dobson didn’t get rattled when it trailed 10-0 and 31-23 in the first half, when Millennium made seven of its 12 three point attempts.

The play of smooth senior guard Alexis Todd and inspirational performance by injured senior guard Dyesha Stahley kept the state championship door from slamming shut on Dobson. In the second half, Millennium faced a different defense, and its inability to continue making threes, missing the 13 it took, helped wrap up the state title for Dobson with a 58-49 win at Gila River Arena.

“I wasn’t going to let my team lose in my senior year,” said Todd, who scored a game-high 20 points.

“We trust each other, our community and coaching staff.”

Dumas showed that trust in playing Stahley 31 minutes despite playing with a knee injury she suffered in the semifinals.

Stahley fell to the floor grimacing a couple of times in the first half Monday, but kept soldiering on. She didn’t score in the first half but responded with 13 second half points.

Quynee Huggins collected a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds for 28-5 Millennium, which will graduate seven seniors.

Dobson (30-2) will lose 10 seniors, but they at least got to close their high school career as champions.   

“This means so much to our coaches, for our school, for our community and everybody who supported us,” Todd said.