Rich Rezler for AnnArbor.com

The hugs just wouldn’t end for the Dexter High School girls basketball team. The smiles couldn’t be wiped from the Dreadnaughts’ faces.

First there was the full-team embrace after Huron’s last-second shot to tie Friday night’s Class A district title game at the Riverdome bounced off the rim to clinch Dexter’s 36-34 victory.

Then came emotional bear hugs from head coach Mike Bavineau as he handed each player a district championship medal - representing the first Class A title in program history - in a midcourt post-game ceremony.

“It’s amazing, I don’t think I’ve ever been hugged so much,” senior Emma Kill said in a rare free moment between the squeezes she was receiving from Dexter students, parents and fans that made their way onto the Riverdome court.

“We’re on top of the world.”

It was Kill who gave the Dreadnaughts the lead for good, 34-32, when she hit a post basket with 57 seconds remaining. The 6-foot-2 center then blocked a Huron shot on the other end of the court, leading to a pair of free throws by fellow senior Makenzie Svihra and a four-point advantage with 35 ticks remaining.

More coverage: Boxscore | District bracket | Playoff roundup

Huron, which had already wiped out a 10-point second-half deficit, still had a chance to tie or win its sixth district title in seven years. The River Rats (17-6) stole an inbounds pass following a Micah Robinson pull-up jumper, but came up short on its final possession.

That triggered the Dexter celebration and a spot in the regional round for the first time since a Class B date in 2005. The Dreadnaughts (20-3) will face Canton (16-5) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Novi High School. Hartland and Farmington Hills Harrison will play in the other semifinal.

“I have five seniors who started every single game this year … and I’m so proud of them and this team because this is something they really wanted to do,” Bavineau said. “To see their face after the buzzer went off, it was like, ‘We really did it.’ It was just a great thing.”

Kill summed up the underdog Dreadnaughts’ attitude with a standard “everyone doubted us except for ourselves” post-game quote. But the outside doubt was understandable considering Huron handed Dexter two of its three regular season losses, including a convincing 34-19 victory just one week ago in the crossover game between the two Southeastern Conference division winners.

(Notably, Dexter’s other regular season loss was a two-point decision against Northville in December. Canton beat Northville, 29-23, and will meet Dexter in the regional round at Novi High School on Tuesday)

This time around, Bavineau packed the Dreadnaught defense in the lane in an attempt to take away Huron’s penetration and force outside shots. The River Rats responded by hitting 12 of 41 (29.2 percent) shots, including 5 of 16 (31.2 percent) from 3-point range while matching its season-low scoring total.

Dexter, meanwhile, steadily adjusted to Huron’s aggressive man-to-man defense. The Dreadnaughts cut their turnover total from eight in the first quarter to four in the second quarter. By the third quarter, when Dexter went on a 9-0 run to take a 23-15 lead, they were playing turnover-free basketball.

“It takes a while to get accustomed to their speed,” Bavineau said. “We practiced with seven defenders on the court just to simulate it.”

Huron coach Steve Vinson - who started a pair of sophomores and a junior - thought Dexter’s senior leadership paid off in the end.

“Every time we made a mistake, they made us pay,” he said. “They’re seniors, they’re smart, they’ve been through this before. I think they deserve a lot of credit for keeping their composure.”

Dexter’s starting five seniors - Kill, Svihra, Riley McDonald, Kathryn Pisano and Teia McGahey - accounted for 28 of the Dreadnaughts’ points, including a team-high nine points by Kill.

Freshman guard Taylor Olson scored the other eight points, five of them in the final minute of the first half to give Dexter a 14-13 halftime lead.

Huron junior guard Micah Robinson scored seven of her game-high 10 points in the final 2:47 as the River Rats - who advanced to a Class A semifinal last season - battled to keep their season alive. Her three-point play on a steal and transition basket pulled Huron within 32-30 after starting the fourth quarter trailing by nine points.

Payton Sims and Bethea Ariel scored six points apiece. Auzhane King and Kamala Glenn, who each hit 3-pointers to spark Huron’s fourth quarter rally, finished with five points.

Rich Rezler is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com.