Girls basketball

La Salle 50, Warden 47

KENNEWICK — The Cougars suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday in the SCAC district championship to La Salle 50-47. Defending state champion La Salle utilized its big-game experience, taking a nine-point advantage into the half. Warden head coach Josh Madsen said the Cougars played well in the third quarter, trimming into the lead. The La Salle defense was stout all game, holding the Cougars to under 15 percent from the field as a team.

“They are defending state champs for a reason,” Madsen said.

Jaryn Madsen led Warden with 16 points on five made 3-pointers; Kiana Rios added 11. The Cougars will face off against sixth-ranked King’s on Saturday at noon, at Big Bend as they open up the next round of the postseason. Josh Madsen said the Cougars will learn from their first fall this season and get better.

Finishing as a top-eight seed, Warden has already clinched an appearance at next week’s 1A state tournament at the Yakima SunDome.

Boys basketball

La Salle 63, Royal 39

KENNEWICK — The Knights’ season came to end Saturday as La Salle took care of business, 63-39, in the third-place game at River View High School.

Malachy Caffrey led La Salle with 33 points, seven assists and seven boards. Cooper Christensen led the Knights with 12 points, adding a pair of rebounds. Carter Dorsing and Caleb Christensen both finished with 10.

Royal head coach Ray Valle said his team made a lot of strides over the season, but just ran out of time in the end. Valle said he’s excited to see this team grow in the offseason.