The Waterford Wildcats look to make it one step further than last year when they line out for the Paudie O'Connor National Cup this weekend.
Neptune Stadium in Cork is the venue for both semi-finals on Saturday with the Wildcats facing Killester, while DCU Mercy and the Trinity Meteors complete the final four.
In the 2021/22 competition, Tommy O' Mahony's team were dumped out at the semi-final stage when they were beaten by three points at the hands of DCU. The Dublin outfit would go on to claim runners-up to Glanmire in the decider.
Last season was a positive one for the Waterford club who ended their league campaign in third place, securing a playoff spot.
Since the new league season has returned the Wildcats are 5-5 from 10 games heading up the best of the rest in the race for playoff places. They have 15 points on the board leaving them six points off of third place held by DCU.
This weekend's cup semi will be a testing one for the Wildcats as Killester have been nipping at their heels in the league, but have lost their last game to league leaders Glanmire - prior to that they have notched four straight wins home and away.
The Wildcats meanwhile have taken a slide in recent outings. While they still hold that fourth-place spot, recent results will be cause for concern for O Mahony. Five losses so far this season and three of them coming in their last three games. Those losses have come against Liffey Celtics, Glanmire and Ulster University (6th, 1st and 9th in the standings). Losing games to teams at either end of the table will be something that the side will look to stop, and the rot could be stemmed with a win over DCU.
Indeed, the last win for the Waterford outfit came in the cup. They beat Liffey Celtics in the quarter-finals at the start of December but would lose to the same team a week later in the league to start their losing run. A win this weekend would not only book the Wildcats a spot in the Cup final and a chance at lifting the cup for the first time since 2000, but it could also kick start a season that has started to fizzle in recent weeks. The only thing standing in their way is the newly resurgent Killester.
