POCONO SUMMIT - Pocono Mountain East coach Rose Haller knows she has a talented team.

The Lady Cardinals did, after all, finish the regular season 13-8 overall and 9-3 in the Mountain Valley Conference.The strong regular season earned the team the second seed in the MVC girls' basketball tournament and a date with third seed Pleasant Valley in the semifinals.After splitting the two regular season meetings, Haller knew her squad would need more than just skill to beat the Lady Bears, who were 13-7 overall and 8-4 in league play, for a second time.The Lady Cardinals showed the resolve and determination of a championship-caliber team, hitting key shots down the stretch to outlast Pleasant Valley, 38-29."With these kids, it's all about believing you can win," Haller said. "They can be their own worst enemy sometimes. They take good shots and they play hard. But they just haven't gotten to a point where they believe they can get it done."I think it's coming slowly. We're a good team and they need to start believing in that."Pleasant Valley put PM East on its heels early, grabbing a 6-3 lead after the first quarter on the strength of four points from Mackenzie Dorney.But the Lady Cardinals' defense stepped up in the second quarter, holding the Lady Bears to just two points.The defensive pressure was a focal point for Haller in her preparation before the game."We really spent a lot of time on defense," the coach said. "They do a lot in the middle (of the court) and we just tried to get our kids to stay at home and help and not get drawn out."They run a 'wheel' on offense, which gets you really drawn out, and then they bring the ball back to the middle. But we just really tried to focus on our help defense and focus on our stuff."Trailing 11-8 at halftime, Pleasant Valley made adjustments to take a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter on a Kiki Russel layup.But the advantage was short-lived, as Cheyanne Ruggiero nailed a three-pointer on the next possession to give the Lady Cardinals a 16-14 lead.The advantage held throughout the remainder of the game, even though Pleasant Valley came close to retaking the lead numerous times, largely because of the relentless effort of PM East.The Lady Cardinals fought for every loose ball and made the most of second-chance points, an aspect of the game Pleasant Valley coach Nadia Gauronsky felt made the difference in the final score."I just think they had a lot more intensity," she said. "They worked really hard; they shot the ball extremely well and put it in the basket. We just couldn't connect."Offensively, PM East didn't have quite as much trouble hitting shots in what was a low-scoring affair.The Lady Cardinals got 20 points from Alpreshia Parker, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and seven from both Khyasia Caldwell and Ruggiero.While not the biggest player on the floor, Caldwell also made her presence felt on the glass, leading the team with over 20 rebounds."She did a great job," Gauronsky said of the junior. "She did a terrific job and she's going to be a great player."A trio of seniors paced Pleasant Valley, as Jordan Meckes finished with eight points, while Dorney chipped in six and Keri Dekmar added five.For a team that has been to the last three Mountain Valley Conference championship games, the frustration of not making it back to the title game with a core that has experienced so much success was undeniable."They're seniors, they've worked hard and they're great kids," Gauronsky said of her upperclassmen. "It's just disappointing, that's all."For Haller, the focus now shifts to a title game that will show just how far her team has come this season."We just need to come out and do our stuff and we'll be okay," the coach said. "What I've always said to the kids is, 'You work as hard as you can, and whatever happens from there we can live with it.'"PLEASANT VALLEYMeckes 2-4-10-8, Dekmar 1-3-4-5, Miller 1-0-2-2, Dorney 3-0-0-6, Craig 1-1-3-3, Russel 2-0-0-4, Fields 0-1-2-1, Krcic 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-9-21-29.POCONO MOUNTAIN EASTHaller 0-0-0-0, Caldwell 3-1-2-7, Lavelle 0-2-6-2, Ruggiero 1-4-9-7, Parker 7-6-8-20, Reisenwitz 0-2-4-2. TOTALS: 11-13-29-38.Pleasant Vy. 6 2 9 12 - 29PM East 3 8 10 17 - 38Three-pointers: PV - None; PME - Ruggiero 1.