ROYAL CITY - Brylee Whitney scored 18 points and hauled in eight rebounds to lead the Warden Cougars to a 48-41 road win over Royal Saturday.

"The win was a great all around effort by everyone on the team," coach Kristin Brandt said. "We are very proud of the girls."

The game got off to a slow start offensive wise for the Cougars as the team trailed 15-4 at the edn of the first eight minutes of action. 

But Warden came charging back in the second quarter, and clamped down on defense, to close the gap 19-17 in favor of the Knights at the half.

"Royal came out in a box and one on Iris Rodriguez and that slowed us down a bit in the first quarter," Brandt said. "Then Brylee and team sparked and went on a 13-4 run in the second quarter and we were only down by two at the half."

The second quarter momentum continued to build the rest of the game as the Cougars eventually got the lead at the end of the third quarter and held on for the win, 48-41.

Chelsea Brown finished with nine points and four steals. Rodriguez added six points and 10 boards, while holding the Knights leading scorer Lindsey Christensen to seven points. Hannah Ahmann added six points, and Haley Yamane tallied five for the Cougars.

Warden is back on the hardwood Friday when the Cougars host Waterville at 6 p.m.