It wasn’t the first wave that did it. Or the second or third.

It was, by accumulated weight and unrelenting pressure, the last.

And that’s the thing about these Colton Wildcats — they just keep coming.

Sunnyside Colton's Kelsey Moser scored a team-high 18 points against Sunnyside Christian  in the Wildcats' 53-39 semifinal win Friday.   ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic

Having given the heavy favorite of the Class 1B state girls tournament all it could handle for three quarters, Sunnyside Christian finally succumbed to unbeaten Colton and fell 53-39 in Friday’s semifinals in the SunDome.

“For the first time we were the ones getting tired,” said SC coach Al Smeenk. “They are so deep and they can run better than we can. That’s why they’re undefeated.”

After winning its first two games here by 51 and 50 points, the Wildcats found themselves up against a team that could defend against their run-and-gun offense, which produced 146 shots in those two games.

That defensive effort helped the Knights stay within striking distance, trailing 37-34 with seven minutes left. But after a third-quarter attempt to break SC’s back failed, Colton struck again with a 9-0 burst and that closed the deal.

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“Definitely our depth made the difference,” said Colton coach Clark Vining. “That’s a strength we’ve built on all season, having more bodies to rotate through. It took a while for that to pay off tonight, but we got there.”

Mollie Kramer, who came off the bench to showcase that depth, scored bookend layins around the decisive 9-0 run, and Kelsey Moser accounted for the other five points.

SC’s Julie Long fired in a 3-pointer to briefly stop Colton’s run, cutting the margin to 46-37 with four minutes to go. But Haley Moser, another Wildcat reserve, scored back-to-back baskets off SC turnovers to ice the outcome.

“I’m satisfied with the defense. We left it all out there on the floor,” Smeenk said. “I was just difficult for us to score. They put you under such constant pressure it’s hard to get into your offense.”

Melanie Van Wingerden was again a full-court force for the Knights, turning in a third straight double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. She had 10 points in the first half, which ended in an 18-18 tie.

“Al’s a great coach, and we knew his kids would defend the perimeter well and handle our pressure,” Vining said. “We had a couple of lopsided games but we knew this was coming. Our kids knew Sunnyside Christian was going to be a battle.”

Junior Kelsey Moser, the team’s leading scorer and a big reason Colton reached the championship game last year, picked up her third foul midway through the second period. But once again the Wildcats’ depth took care of that potential problem as Kramer contributed 15 points and eight rebounds.

Moser backed off a step and didn’t commit another foul, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds. She made 9 of 10 free throws.

Colton (23-0), which fell to Garfield-Palouse in last year’s title game, will take another crack at the championship against St. John-Endicott (19-4) Saturday at 7.

The Knights (19-6) will take home their fourth straight state trophy Saturday when they play St. Michael’s (13-13) for third and sixth at 3:30 p.m.

“Last year we lost in the semis and then lost again the next day for sixth. They were so disappointed with that,” Smeenk said. “That’s why I know they’ll be ready. If they play the way they did today, we should do well.”