Valley View senior Hannah Collins watched Madison’s Kaylee Bush’s shot bounce around the rim and fall away as the final horn sounded, touching off a party.

“It’s amazing,” Collins said Saturday after scoring 17 points to go with nine rebounds and seven steals in Valley View’s 45-44 win over the Mohawks. “I can’t even explain it to you.”

Using a stifling defense, the Spartans claimed their first girls basketball win over Madison in Collins’ time in blue and white.

Mikayla Partin gave Valley View a 44-41 lead with one minute left, but Madison closed to 44-43 on a pair of free throws with :46 left. Madison fouled Hannah Thomas, who hit one of two free throws with five ticks left. Madison’s Josey Harding grabbed the rebound and got to half-court before calling a timeout with 2.8 left.

Then it got interesting.

Valley View was called for a technical foul for reaching across the line while guarding the inbounds pass, setting Meghan Miller up with a chance to tie with a pair of free throws. The first found nothing but net, but the second rolled around the rim and out.

The Mohawks’ final gasp came when Harding lobbed a pass to Bush, whose shot bounced around the rim and out as time expired. Spartans celebrated as Madison players collapsed to the floor.

“I was nervous because they got the ball after the free throws,” Collins said. “I was extremely nervous because I had given 110 percent for 32 minutes and we could have lost it in the final three seconds.”

The Spartans led 17-11 after the first quarter behind 10 points from Collins, but the Mohawks responded with a 16-2 run to enter the break up 26-21.Partin’s shot with five seconds left sent the Spartans into the final eight minutes with a 36-35 lead. Harding gave Madison (5-1) a brief lead, 40-39, with 3:25 left and Collins gave it back to the Spartans for good less than five seconds later.

“This was four years in the making,” Spartans coach Steve Dickson said after his team improved to 3-1. “It was a good, hard-fought game against a good team and we stood up to the challenge.”

Valley View forced Madison into 22 turnovers and just 11-of-41 shooting from the floor. Spartan guard KiLee Genslinger had 10 points and five assists. Miller led Madison with 15 points while Bush finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Harding just missed a triple-double with eight points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.

“You have to give Valley View credit,” Madison coach Jon Rossi said. “They took it to us. They had more mental toughness and out-gutted us. They wanted to prove a point.”