The Durango Demons rediscovered the defensive play that led them to an 11-1 start to the season.

It wasn’t enough to win a league championship, but it was enough to secure a place in the CHSAA Class 4A state tournament for the Durango High School girls basketball team.

DHS (16-7) fell 32-26 Saturday against Palisade (21-2) in the title game of the Southwestern League/Western Slope League Class 4A tournament.

The Demons led 23-22 going to the fourth quarter but were unable to make a few key shots down the stretch.

“Palisade is a really good team. I thought our kids competed very well (Saturday) and the whole tournament,” DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said. “We missed some shots late. We had some good looks, but we missed.”

Katrina Chandler, a sophomore guard, led DHS with 10 points Saturday. Taylor Edwards and Kaite Wiegert each scored six.

DHS had Palisade’s lead down to 28-26 with 32.6 seconds to go but couldn’t draw even. Ashlyn Brown scored 13 points for Palisade, and Casey Brown added seven.

Still, holding Palisade to 32 points and beating Montrose twice in one week was a success story for DHS, especially its defense.

“Our defense was good for all three games. Definitely sound,” Fitzpatrick said. “We found it again. When you play with that kind of defensive intensity, sometimes you get fatigued a bit in a tournament like this, too.”

DHS will find out its seed in the CHSAA Class 4A state tournament Sunday.