Oaklands Wolves provided the bulk of a county team that reached the east region final.
Eight of the ten Wolves players who featured for Herts Girls U15s are still eligible for next season's competition too, where they will hope to go one better and win the competition.
Playing on their home court at the St Albans-based college, Herts won a thriller 25-22 against Bedfordshire to open the competition, Eunice Wong draining a game-sealing three as she led the hosts with 11 points in the 32-minute, running-clock encounter.
With Bedfordshire comfortably beating Suffolk, Herts needed to win their final group game against Suffolk to seal a place in the final.
It proved to be another close match with a late Chloe Chan bucket proving to be the difference as Herts edged home 37-35.
Wong finished with 12 points, with Jane Yu adding six and Daisy Golan and Olivia Akers scoring four each.
That meant a final against a taller, more athletic, Essex side and it proved to be a step too far for the young Herts team.
The visitors never looked back after a 12-0 first period, running out comfortable 38-19 winners 38-19 in the end with Yu scoring 11 points and Wong six.
Wolves also provided Otis Lau-Johnston and Ricky Amrania from their U16 squad as they produced a dominant display to win the boys' competition.
Lau-Johnston scored six points as Herts opened the tournament with a 52-18 hammering of Cambridgeshire and the Wolves point guard then opened the scoring as Herts clinched a place in the final with a 61-14 victory over Norfolk.
Surprise package Bedfordshire awaited Herts in the final and the hosts never looked in trouble as they wracked up a 44-22 to clinch the title.
Wong and Yu were named in the girls' all-star team, while Gaurie Kohli won the girls' sportsmanship award.
Lau-Johnston was named in the boys' sportsmanship team.
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