Having lost to Hill-Murray in last year’s Class 3A state semifinals after entering the state tournament undefeated, DeLaSalle knew all too well the burden of carrying a perfect record — and the pain of losing it on the biggest stage, when there is no tomorrow.

The lessons learned a year ago, however, just might have paved the way for a state title this year. Hill-Murray was the team that carried an undefeated record into a tournament game, this time the 3A championship against DeLaSalle on Saturday at Target Center.

Once again, the undefeated team fell. DeLaSalle outhustled, outmuscled and simply outplayed the Pioneers in claiming a 63-43 victory and the program’s first state championship. Both coaches had the same assessment afterward.

“They’re playing not to lose,” said Islanders coach Faith Johnson Patterson, who tapped into last year’s heartbreak for this year’s game plan. “We had to play to win.”

Said Hill-Murray’s Erin Herman: “They went out to win the ballgame. We went out not to lose it.”

Those mindsets were evident from the start, as was DeLaSalle’s determination not to let All-Metro guard Tessa Cichy get hot. Cichy burned DeLaSalle for 34 points in last year’s upset; this time, she was limited to a season-low five points, finishing 2-for-14 from the field while committing 10 turnovers before fouling out late in the game. DeLaSalle played her physically, and it paid off.

“It’s still frustrating,” Cichy said, noting she is used to such attention. “That’s basketball. Things just didn’t go our way.”

The same could not be said for the Islanders (27-4), who turned a 22-20 halftime lead into a 37-24 edge just four minutes into the second half. Tyseanna Johnson, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, capped the run with a basket.

“I think they underestimated us,” Johnson said. “When they weren’t getting the calls they wanted, you could tell it was frustrating them.”

Hill-Murray — which lost last year’s title game to Benilde-St. Margaret’s after knocking off DeLaSalle — never got within eight points after that run, succumbing to cold shooting (31.5 percent for the game) and a rebounding deficit (42-29, including 30-14 in the second half).

“When we figured out how to stop them,” Herman said, “we couldn’t buy a basket.”