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BLOOMINGTON — If team chemistry was a high school course, give every member of the state champion Bloomington Central Catholic girls basketball roster an A+ for finding a winning formula.

After outstanding teams in the last several years came close, the 2009-2010 edition of the Saints blended the right mix of faith, friendship, skill, athleticism, health, attitude and yes — a little luck — to achieve its goal of Central Catholic’s first state title in basketball.

“We had team chemistry,” said Coach Debbie Coffman after the Saints defeated Quincy Notre Dame 64-58 last Saturday at Redbird Arena in Normal to capture the Illinois High School Association Class 2A championship. “And the most important thing was our faith.”

That faith was on display when the Saints gathered on Sunday with supporters at St. Patrick’s Church of Merna to celebrate the win. As each team member spoke, there were common threads of gratitude for one another, for their parents, and for the opportunity to attend and represent a Catholic school.

“This team stood out, and part of the winning formula was they really and truly worked together as a team,” said Joy Allen, principal. “There was no drama. No selfishness. They recognized and used each others’ talents to win games.”

These Saints had a lot of talent, and they won a lot of games — a school-record 31 of them. Their only loss came against Eureka when a star performer, Jess Reinhart, was out with an injury. Both Reinhart and teammate Allie Norton, who combined for 46 points in the championship game, were named to the 15-player first team of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association 1A and 2A all-state squad.

Also in the starting line-up was Kelly Curran, who just happens to be a Wendy’s High School Heisman national finalist and a multiple state title winner in cross country and track and field.

Allen recalled that last year’s team went undefeated in the regular season but lost in the sectionals when several players took ill. This year the team took extra precautions against the spread of germs, including agreeing not to hold hands during their prayers.

They had deeper connections.

“We try to make our team to be a family,” said Coffman. “They spend a lot of time together. We’re interested in developing them into young adults. We not only want to make them winners on the court, but winners throughout life.”

This much is sure — these young women know the formula.