The Woodland Christian girls basketball team just refuses to end their dream season.

Despite the calendar creeping into mid-March, the Cardinals’ extended postseason will include, at the very least, one more championship game as they advanced to the CIF D5 State Championship regional final after a tough 47-40 win over Head-Royce Saturday night in front of a manic Jack Hamlin Gym.

“I feel like we keep rising to the challenge,” Cardinals head coach Shiloh Sorbello said. “Trinity was a challenge because they were such a defensive, cohesive team, and then Head Royce had a fantastic athlete in the middle. I’m really proud of our grit. We have now beaten back-to-back section champs by playing the right way and maximizing our strengths.”

One more win at home on Tuesday in the CIF D5 State regional final against No. 4 seed Encinal would send the Northern California champion Cardinals to this Friday’s CIF State Final at the Golden 1 Center against the Southern California champion.

“It’s fortunate the No. 1 seed got knocked out, allowing us to host Encinal,” Sorbello said. “It’s a historic season. We have continued to go further than any team ever has in the area. I’m really proud and excited for the girls. They are playing great basketball at the right time.

“If we win on Tuesday, we’d have a chance to redeem ourselves in the state title game on Friday back at Golden 1 against the southern champion. At this point, we are just playing with house money.”

Following an undefeated Sierra Delta League season, the Cardinals were rewarded with the No. 2 overall seed in the CIF D5 Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. They turned that seeding into three straight playoff wins before falling to No. 1 seed Bret Harte in the CIF SJS final late last month.

Despite the loss, the Cardinals qualified as the division’s No. 2 seed for the CIF State tournament. They defeated No. 15 seed Fort Bragg last Tuesday before defeating No. 7 seed Trinity on Thursday, sending them to the regional semis against Head Royce.

Head-Royce (21-4, 10-1 Bay Counties East Basketball) enjoyed a fantastic season as league champions before taking the CIF Division 4 North Coast Section playoffs by storm as a No. 2 seed, defeating No. 1 seed Encinal in the final.

During their CIF State tournament run, Head Royce had defeated No.14 seed Fortune Early College and No. 11 seed Durahm before they clashed with the Cardinals.

After a tough first quarter, the Cardinals were down 15-6.

Teagan Hayes then chipped in with four consecutive points from a single free throw and a 3-pointer to make it 15-11.

Star Head Royce point guard Morgan Ross then made her mark on the game with an emphatic block that she parlayed into a shot at the other end to extend the lead back to 17-11.

Cardinals senior point guard Keziah Maldonado-Lemus then popped up with a 3-pointer of her own to cut the lead back down to 17-14. Sophomore Sienna Sorbello arrived on the scene with a bucket to make it 19-16.

With just over four seconds left in the first half, Ross would draw and convert just one of her free throws before Maldonado-Lemus raced up the court and found Sorbello inside for a buzzer-beating layup that cut the lead to just 20-18.

A basket tying the game up at 20-20 led off the third quarter right before Maldonado-Lemus drained another 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a slim 23-20 lead. Ross later tied it up at 23-23 after a free throw.

Maldonado Lemus then made it 25-23 on a basket before she found sophomore Bailee Broward on a deep 3-pointer, making it 28-25. From there, the Cardinals had an out-of-body experience from deep, hitting two more 3-pointers, courtesy of Maldonado-Lemus and Broward.

“Teagan, Keziah and Bailee all had three 3-pointers,” Sobello recalled. “We made nine total 3-pointers but only had eight 2-point baskets. I feel like we were due. We were cold from outside the last few games, and with Morgan Ross lurking in the interior, we needed to knock down some shots. Shooting is really contagious, and they fed off each other and the home crowd energy.”

An offensive rebound and putback from Maldonado-Lemus opened up a 36-30 lead that ended up at 36-32 at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, the Cardinals continued shooting the lights out of the gym as Maldonado-Lemus kicked off the final quarter with another 3-pointer to make it 39-32.

Head-Royce never fully went away and kept chipping away at the lead. By this point, however, the Cardinals’ defense was beyond locked-in, as they smothered every player on every single Head Royce possession. Hayes was also doing a great job of not only staying in front of Ross and providing good defense but also doing it without getting into foul trouble.

“It was really a swarming defense,” Sorbello said. “With Teagan committed to Ross, all the other girls were rotating to the ball. Keziah and Ellie Sumner did a great job of guarding. They shot a lot of long twos and didn’t get into the point as much. Sienna did a great job boxing out while Bailee was in there hauling in the boards.”

With about four minutes left, Ross would drive to the hoop and covert a bucket, making it 39-36. But, with all the confidence and momentum in the world, Hayes lined up another 3-pointer on the Cardinals’ next possession and nailed it, making it 42-36.

Baskets from Sorbello and then Elena Ganyo made it 46-38 with a little over a minute left in the game. Despite a late charge from Head Royce, the Cardinals gleefully ran off the court and into the locker rooms with a 47-40 win and a date with Encinal in the regional final.

“Head Royce were right there at the end, but I never felt like we were going to lose,” Sobello recalled. “I felt like our adjustment on defense unlocked the key to the game. After Head Royce called a timeout, I told the girls after the first quarter that we had solved the puzzle. They didn’t have an answer for our defense. They didn’t adjust to it at the half, and we came out on top.”

Up next for the Cardinals will be No. 4 seed and Division III school Encinal, who also lost their CIF section title game two weeks ago to Head Royce. Both league championship teams will be desperate to make sure their respective seasons end with at least one postseason championship.

“It’s cliche, but defense wins championships,” Sorbello said. “Our defense has carried us this whole season. Giving up only 40 points to them is a great accomplishment. We need to shut down the other teams’ starts, and we have the players to do that.”