Shawnee ? Baldwin junior Anna Skaggs has wanted to make a trip to Salina since she was in eighth grade.

The Bulldogs (19-3) will travel to the Bicentennial Center in Salina, site of the Class 4A state basketball tournament, if they can defeat Spring Hill (21-1) in the sub-state championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Mill Valley.

Baldwin defeated Kansas City Ward, 51-43, on Thursday in a sub-state semifinal game at Mill Valley.

“Since eighth grade all of us said our goal was to get to Salina,” said Skaggs, who scored 13 points in Thursday’s semifinal. “We knew that if we played hard, our defense would come through for us.”

Despite making only one field goal in the fourth quarter against KC Ward, the Bulldogs outscored the Cyclones 10-7 in the final eight minutes.

Junior Ashley Klemencic pulled the Cyclones within 41-39 with 5:45 remaining, but they only scored four points the rest of the way.

The Cyclones were forced to foul the Bulldogs, who responded by converting on eight of 11 free-throw attempts in the final two minutes.

Baldwin senior Jodie Bacon took a charge from KC Ward senior Ashley Baska with Baldwin leading 47-43 with 40 seconds remaining.

“The biggest play of tonight was the charge that Jodie Bacon took,” Baldwin coach Eric Toot said. “Both Jodie and Anna took charges when it mattered the most.”

The Bulldogs experienced scoring droughts of 2:41 and 2:56 to open the first and second quarters, respectively, but Baldwin senior Colleen Kivett  who scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds  found a way to score points in a hurry. Kivett canned three of her four three-pointers in the first half as the lead went back and forth.

“I told the girls at half that I was willing to bet this game on her shooting if they left her open,” Toot said. “She’s been a great shooter for a couple of years. She made herself a great shooter.”

Baldwin led 29-26 at the half, but the scrappy Cyclones forced turnovers and began an 8-2 run after Kivett nailed her fourth three-pointer.

The Cyclones forced Baldwin to shoot from behind the arc as they kept the Bulldogs’ frontcourt from being an offensive factor.

Sophomore Emily Brown and senior Casey Millstein, who pulled in nine rebounds, combined for 29 points in the opening-round victory over Eudora but only contributed four against KC Ward.

“I got to give a lot of credit to Bishop Ward. They are one of the best teams we’ve seen all year,” Toot said. “We were very solid on defense, but we could have executed better and relaxed more on offense.”

Ellen Stump led KC Ward with 14 points.

Baldwin 51, KC Ward 43

Baldwin 14 15 12 10 Â 51

KC Ward 14 12 10 7 Â 43

Baldwin (19-3) Â Jodie Bacon 5, Emily Brown 4, Casey Millstein 2, Colleen Kivett 21, Anna Skaggs 13, Kayla Pringle 6.

KC Ward (13-9) Â Ashley Baska 2, Beth Baughman 10, Molly Dumovich 11, Lindsey Klemencic 5, Ellen Stump 14, Allison Rank 1.