Detroit — Lauren Henderson scored 23 points Sunday afternoon to lead Riverview Gabriel Richard to a 55-44 defeat of Madison Heights Bishop Foley for the school’s first CHSL girls basketball championship.

But the 6-foot senior forward scored the two most important points of her career, and certainly of this season, four days earlier — two free throws with two seconds remaining in the game to give Gabriel Richard a 42-40 win over Mount Clemens Cardinal Mooney.

That victory put Henderson and the Pioneers into the CHSL final at University of Detroit Mercy’s Calihan Hall — something she and her sisters, Kelly and Ashley, have dreamed about for a long time.

“We used to come and watch games at Calihan Hall and always wished someday we could play here, too,” Lauren said.

For Ashley, a spunky junior guard who scored 18 points, the game was a “dream come true that I could play a game with her at Calihan before she graduated.”

The day was special, too, for sophomore sibling Kelly, who got a chance to get on the floor with her sisters in the second half.

On Bishop Foley’s bench, the day was a nightmare for senior Jackie Bieniewicz, who had poured in 30 points in the Ventures’ quarterfinal contest.

Hounded and frustrated by Richard’s zone, Bieniewicz scored just two points from the free-throw line through three quarters, and nine for the game with seven in the fourth quarter.

“She was pressing,” said Foley coach Dave Joseph. “It wasn’t our best game. It was just one of those days. I told the seniors to be proud we were here (the last time was 1998) and that 18 other teams wished they could be here.”

Pioneers first-year coach Bill Jones, who was named “Coach of the Year” for the AA Division, employed a “match-up zone so that we could concentrate better on her (Bieniewicz), to be always aware where she was.”

Ventures (14-5) senior forward Colleen Szakacs’ triple (she had a team-high 12 for the game, 10 in the first half) tied the score at 17-17 midway through the second quarter. Gabriel Richard went on an 8-2 run for a 27-19 halftime lead. Lauren (13) and Ashley (8) combined for 21 of the Pioneers’ total.

The Pioneers (16-4) continued their hot pursuit of the championship with an 18-7 third quarter to ensure the trophy would be on display at the school Monday.