The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA -- The WP Lady Cardinals fought tooth and nail for a 47-44 victory over the DeSales Fighting Irish last Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals, who had recently lost a close battle with the Irish, came out onto the court with a vengeance to stay alive in playoff action.

WP grabbed the tipoff and quickly lit the board when Kristin Potter cut through the key banking it in for two.

It took the Irish a couple trips down the floor before they connected from behind the three-point line. They scored two more from the free-throw line when WP's Ronnie Hulce was called for her second foul to put the Cards down, 2-5.

Potter put a free throw of her own through the hoop, and WP's Dionna Baker grabbed the Irish inbounds pass and put up an easy bucket to tie it up at 5.

WP's Hannah Helm was called for a shooting foul sending the Irish to the line again. They connected on both of their free throws, but WP's Potter worked her magic to connect with Krystal Harris for two.

With 3:07 left in the first, the Cardinals took their first lead when Dionna Baker was fouled by the Irish while shooting and she put away both of her free throws.

Two back-to-back steals by Baker and one from Harris got the crowd's blood pumping, but the Cardinals adrenaline got the best of them and the only benefit was a little reality check for the Irish -- the Cardinals came to play.

WP's Katy Hofer was called for her first foul with 25 seconds left in the first, the Irish landed one free throw, but WP's Harris nailed her first three pointer of the night at the buzzer and the Cardinals had a 12-8 lead over the Irish after one quarter. The Cardinals kept the defensive pressure on the Irish with two steals from Potter, one from Chelsey Brannock, and a blocked Irish shot from Baker. But the Cards' cold shooting couldn't produce a bucket until Harris connected on her second trey with 3:41 left in the half.

The Irish put up six unanswered points on the board before Brannock found her sweet spot from behind the three-point line for a 20-16 Cardinal lead.

Baker followed that up with yet another steal that she took the length of the court before pulling up in the key to dish it off to Brannock for two with 16 seconds left.

Brannock was then called for a shooting foul and the Irish connected for one free throw, but the Cardinals maintained a 22-17 halftime lead. The Irish connected on two three-point baskets in the third, but the Cardinals kept the defensive heat on continuing to steal Irish passes and putting the ball through the hoop with multiple buckets from Hulce and Baker for a 36-28 Cardinal lead going into the final quarter.

The Cardinals kicked off the fourth quarter with yet another steal by Baker who took it coast-to-coast for two .

Harris then found Hulce who was posting strong and working the Irish defense to add two more.

The Irish put six unanswered points on the board and put their full court press to work. The Cardinals had no trouble breaking the press and kept the scoring coming with a Hulce-to-Baker combo, a Harris put back, and another blocked Irish shot from Baker.

The heat in the gym intensifi ed with a 44-40 Cardinal lead forcing the Irish to take a timeout with 1:12 left in the game.

The Irish kept the press on, fouling to stop the clock sending the Cards to the line. The Cardinals were unable to connect from the line and the Irish pulled within one with a three-point basket with 21 seconds left in the game.

The Irish had no choice but to foul to stop the clock, but they picked the wrong bird to send to the line.

Harris went three-for-four from the line from two Irish fouls to put the game away for the Cardinals, ending the Irish season with a 47-44 Cardinal victory.

WP vs. DeSales 47-44

WP 14 8 14 11 - 47 Des 10 7 11 16 - 44

Harris 15 pts

Baker 12 pts 5 reb 6 stls

Hulce 7 pts

Potter 6 pts 4 stls

Brannock 5 pts 2 stls

Doepker 2 pts 4 reb