INDIANAPOLIS - This was for Bill Derbyshire and Gerry Tilker, Elmhurst baseball coaches who never reached state-championship promised land.

This was for Dave Riley at Northrop and Lamar Kilmer at Snider, opposing coaches who showed Elmhurst coach Mark Redding the blueprints for powerhouse girls basketball.

State championships are never won alone, and the Trojans' Class 3A crown certainly wasn't. While it starts with talent, it often ends with the intangibles of toughness and tenacity and, sometimes, theft.

Stealing, it seems, isn't all bad.

“I stole the high-low from Coach Riley,” Redding said about his trademark offensive play. “I watched Coach Kilmer beat us by 40 while he was pushing the ball and running up and down. I stole that from him. I took a lot of their ideas and implemented them on our team.”

Implementation produced Elmhurst's 62-59 victory over Owen Valley on Saturday in the Class 3A finals at Lucas Oil Stadium.

It was the first state title in school history and followed the runner-up finish from the Trojans' boys basketball team in 2003.

Not bad for a school that was nearly closed a few years ago.

“I'm a graduate from Elmhurst,” Redding said. “I've been at this school for 20 years as a head coach and an assistant coach. I've watched a 29-0 (Elmhurst) baseball team lose in the regional. I've seen baseball teams be ranked No. 1 and not get to this point.

“We've had a lot of coaches who were very successful but never won a state title. To the school and those coaches, this is theirs.”

Redding's passion for his school and mentors was surpassed only by his perception that Fort Wayne players and teams are overlooked. Case in point — Elmhurst's best player, guard Lecretia Smith, an all-state-caliber player who was dominant in Saturday's title game, might not make the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star squad.

“I feel we in Fort Wayne have been disrespected,” Redding said. “We have quality teams. We had two teams win state titles (Canterbury won the Class A championship Saturday). It wasn't by accident.

“We have players who deserve to be All-Stars. We have Division I players who don't make the All-Star team. It sounds like these kids don't get a chance, and I have a problem with that.

“One of our goals this season was to prove to the rest of Indiana that Fort Wayne is on the map. We'll continue to be on the map.”

Redding suggested doing away with the girls' Indiana-Kentucky All-Star basketball series and switching to a North-South format matching players from the northern part of the state against those from the south.

“The Indiana-Kentucky All-Star series has lost its luster,” he said. “It needs to be changed. Get a North-South game and you'll have 12 to 15 players on each team. Now see who's the best. That's the way it would be.”

That's for a future debate. For now Elmhurst has its state championship, and with four returning starters - Liza Clemons, Lacia Gorman, Cora Tatum and Kara Peppler - plus key reserves such as Rosie Lewis and TeSharra Thomas, a repeat is a strong possibility.

“This feels great,” Gorman said. “And being sophomores, me and Liza have a chance to do it again.”