“Sometimes, they can stay in there for awhile,” sighed West coach Angie Waddell, pointing toward the Falcon locker room, as she waited for her leaders to join her for a victory chat with WSTP’s radio crew.

Eventually the West girls showed up for Waddell. Just as they eventually showed up against Concord.

The usual trio led the way for West. Kari Schenk scored 17 points and added a team-leading nine rebounds. Kate Goodman scored 15, eight in the fourth quarter, and pulled down eight boards. Sara Pieper scored 13 on 6-for-10 shooting. She was the only person in the building who shot well.

West claimed its first conference tournament championship since 1996 in a game that was no beauty contest. Instead, it was frenzied, it was fierce and it was ferocious.

“You play Concord and it’s not ever going to be pretty,” said Waddell, who split two low-scoring, four-point games with the third-seeded Spiders (19-7) during the regular season. “Their girls are big and they’ve got their hands all over the place.”

Both teams spent a lot of emotion in dramatic semifinal wins on Wednesday, but top-seeded West (21-5) got down to the business first, spurting to a quick 7-0 lead. Kristen McNeely’s 3-pointer gave West an 18-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But Concord’s 1-2 punch of Candis Spratt (inside) and Chel Sumlin (outside) pounded away at West in the second quarter.

“Sumlin — she’ll just shoot it right in your face from anywhere,” said Pieper. “Spratt was the one who really worried us, though, because she shoots a real high percentage.”

By halftime, Spratt (14) and Sumlin (13) had 27 of Concord’s 28 points and the Spiders trailed 32-28. Sumlin had connected on five straight shots and Spratt hammered the Falcons on her offensive board.

The worst news for West was that Kate Goodman, the team’s intense inside presence, picked up her third personal foul in the final minute of the half.

That left Waddell with the tough decision on when to bring back Goodman. She knew that Goodman attracts collisions, whistles and fouls like a magnet draws iron filings. To bring her back prematurely would invite disaster. Waddell knew she had to have Goodman at the end.

So Goodman sat in the third quarter and the Falcons’ offense quickly ground to a halt.

Fortunately for Waddell, West Rowan’s defense did not stop.

“The people we put in there — Jenny Sloop and Danielle Scearce — are always going to give us defense and rebounds,” said Waddell.

West struggled for points, but it wouldn’t let the Spiders score, either. Both teams made just three field goals in the quarter, and it was “Red” — Scearce’s nickname, for obvious reasons — who had two of West’s buckets. Shameeka Wansley added four boards in the period.

“They all did a great job,” said West guard Kari Schenk. “This team isn’t just a few people, it’s everyone. We all depend on each other.”

Scearce, Wansley and Sloop didn’t make the radio interview, but they helped the Falcons survive in the game’s most critical period. At times, the lead dropped to a single point, but West never relinquished it. But keeping that slim lead came at a price. Even Schenk, who leaves games only for emergencies or blowouts, got in foul trouble. So did Wansley and McNeely.

“I was sitting there watching and getting worried,” said Goodman. “Everyone had fouls.”

Fans pleaded with Waddell to put Goodman back in each time the lead dipped, but she calmly kept the senior seated right next to her.

Finally, with West’s lead at 39-37 with 1:09 left in the third quarter, Waddell waved Goodman to the scorer’s table.

The cavalry arrived in time, but it was a vicious scrap for several minutes.

Spratt scored inside with 2:16 left in the game to cut West’s lead to 47-45. Then West was fortunate that Spider freshman Raven Patton missed a chance to tie the game at the line. Goodman got the critical rebound on Patton’s miss.

Two pressure free throws by Schenk at 1:09 pushed West ahead 49-45. Then, suddenly, it was all Falcons. West pulled away behind a barrage of Goodman free throws, scoring the game’s final nine points. In the closing minutes, Goodman grabbed five rebounds, made two steals, drew a charge for the critical fifth foul on Sumlin and poured in six free throws.

West has a play simply called “Post Kate.” They used it on nearly every possession down the stretch and Concord had no answer.

“Kate scores at will,” said Waddell. “She can always get the ball up and get fouled.”

Schenk gave Goodman’s defense equal credit.

“Kate got the charge that fouled out Sumlin,” said Schenk. That was the big break we needed to win this one.”

Pieper finished off the victory with a buzzer bomb after a pass from Schenk. Then Pieper did something she calls the “wooh-thing,” bouncing around and screaming for joy as the victorious Falcons rushed from the court to embrace Waddell and their teammates.

“The girls knew what was on the line tonight,” said Waddell, “and they were wonderful. They played like champions.”

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NOTES: Concord coach Patrick Johnson was not with his team. He’s apparently suspended by the school. School officials declined comment, stating only that it was a “personnel issue.” Boys coach Foster Parker directed the Spiders with the aid of former Spider coach Bo Brickles.

CONCORD (45) — Lynch 2, Russell, Spratt 19, Taylor 6, Edwards 1, Patton, Sumlin 17, Lentz.

WEST (56) — Goodman 15, Schenk 17, Wansley 2, Pieper 13, McNeely 3, Scearce 6, Sloop.

Concord 12 16 9 8 — 45