HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — So much for gracious hosts.

The Wahama girls basketball team traveled to downtown Huntington Wednesday night to face the four-time defending Class A state champion Lady Irish of St. Joseph Central in the sectional semi-final. The Lady Irish had four players reach double figures en route to a 86-31 victory over the Lady Falcons.

The Lady Irish (20-1) came out of the gates on fire, out scoring Wahama (3-21) 38-to-6 in the first period, led by junior Griffin Dempsey with 13. Dempsey eclipsed the career 1,000 point mark in the first period, joining classmate Mychal Johnson who met the 1,000 point plateau on January 8th against Parkersburg Catholic.

Both Wahama and St. Joesph marked 11 points in the second period and the Lady Falcons trailed 49-17 at the half. After the break SJC out scored Wahama 28-to-4, pushing the lead to 56 points with eight minutes remaining. WHS scored 10 points in the finale while the Lady Irish marked nine to seal the 86-31 triumph.

Wahama was led by seniors Mackenzie Gabritsch and Kelsey Zuspan with eight points apiece, while Paige Gardner marked five. Sierra Carmichael and Rachel Roque each finished with four points, while Bunni Peters rounded out the WHS scoring with two points.

Dempsey led the Lady Irish with 20 points, followed by Asia Petitte with 18, Rachel Lee with 14 and Mychal Johnson with 11. Mychelle Johnson finished with seven points, Diana Disu had four, while Rebecca Lee and Chelsea Gale each had three. Mary Parker, Desiree Disu and Catherine Jenkins each added two points, rounding out the SJC total.

The Lady Irish will face Charleston Catholic Friday in the Region IV Section 2 final at Buffalo High School at 7:30 p.m. St. Joe’s holds a 75-16 victory over Charleston Catholic from their meeting on January 16th. CCHS defeated Buffalo in the sectional semi-final 57-48 Wednesday night.

This marks the final game for Wahama seniors Paige Gardner, Mackenzie Gabritsch and Kelsey Zuspan.