We came into this season believing it was going to be a rebuilding year. The kids were the ones that believed they could be here today. Our goal is always to make it to the championship and I'm sure some people around the conference didn't believe we could do it.

The engine (for Pallotti) is the Faulkner kid. She controls the ball, defensively she's a bulldog, offensively, she controls the offense. She's one of these kids who walks up to you before the game with a smile, then walks out on the court and kicks your butt.

This game will be our toughest challenge of the three years. Pallotti is a really solid team. I don't know if we can score enough points to win, but I believe if we can get 45 points, we will have a real good chance of winning the game.

We did a real good job defensively. Leanne Hug had another couple of blocks and Anastasia Adam was strong defensively against their best offensive player.

We thought we'd have to look for survivors.

Every year we have said that our goal is just to get there (to the championship). We've accomplished what we wanted to do and there's nothing that would make us all happier than seeing that 2006 banner hanging in our gym. We struggled offensively tonight to put the ball in the basket, but our defense was good enough to win it and we'll see what happens Sunday.

This was a breakout game for Leanne. She really came through when we needed it most.