In a game marked by offensive outbursts, St. Thomas Aquinas weathered a final Newton run Friday at the Topeka Expocentre to advance to the Class 5A state championship game with a 42-40 victory.

It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Saints (23-1), who haven’t lost to a Kansas school this season.

“This was a game of runs on both sides,” Aquinas coach Rick Hetzel said. “Both sides played hard.”

There were six lead changes in the game. Newton had an 11-2 run and the Saints had a run of 20-3.

The Saints had 41-34 advantage after senior Haleigh Cindrich scored on a backdoor lay-up with 43 seconds left, but the Railers wouldn’t go away. Newton senior Abbie Lehman canned ...