With nine seconds left and a two-point lead over St. Charles Thursday night, Jenny Jansen stepped to the free-throw line for two shots.

“It’s all on you!” the St. Charles student section chanted from the opposite end of the gym. “It’s all on you!”

Unfortunately for the students who made the westbound trek on I-70, they were right.

Jansen hit both free throws, Warrenton won, 46-42, and the Warriors clinched their first outright conference title since 1996.

“I try to block out stuff like that,” Jansen said. “All year my free throws have been off, so I was just focusing on making those two.”

Free throws have been a topic of discussion all season for the Warriors, who otherwise have few warts as a team.

Thursday was a different story from the line, however, and it was much needed.

The team struggled to score against St. Charles’ 3-2 zone and trailed at the half, 27-21.

“We didn’t have our best game tonight, but these kids are all about grit and heart,” Head Coach Greg Williams said. “They really scrapped tonight. We shot terribly tonight, but we came out in the third quarter and took the lead. We made some silly turnovers that we need to clean up, but if you cannot play your best game and win, that’s the sign of a good team.”

Warrenton (22-3, 7-0 in GAC North) had clinched at least a share of the Gateway Athletic Conference North championship a week earlier at St. Charles West, but St. Charles could have claimed a share of the title with a win Thursday.

“We definitely didn’t want to share with them,” Jansen said.

Jansen led Warrenton with 17 points.

Junior forward Kayla Nelson added 13, including nine in the first quarter.

Junior guard Ashtyn Dixon hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points, but it was her final two that were the most important.

Dixon stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws with 24 seconds left to extend Warrenton’s lead to five.

“We had some kids that made some clutch free throws,” Williams said. “Ashtyn made two, Jenny made two, and that’s your ballgame. Those are the things that build playoff character.”

Winning the program’s first conference title since before these players were born had been a goal of this year’s team all season, but it was never the biggest hurdle they wanted to clear.

Williams, however, said the final minute was a microcosm of his program the last three seasons.

“That was Jenny’s last home game, and what a highlight to her career,” he said. “She’s the best competitor I’ve ever coached. She steps up when we need her to, and she just wants to win. We’re about .800 (winning percentage) the last three years, and it ain’t me. It’s her. Hopefully we can keep winning and put together a little run.”