ROYAL CITY — Once Toppenish took a 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter over Royal on Thursday night the Wildcats held the lead for the remainder of the contest, riding out to a 56-32 win over the Knights.

“They’re a scrappy team,” Royal head coach Farrah Wardenaar said. “They trapped us, they full-court pressed us, and we didn’t handle it well. We’re going to learn from it, we’re going to practice it and we’ll be ready for the next team that does it to us.”

Royal started the game with a three-point play by junior Audrey Bergeson, who connected on a shot under the rim while being fouled and converted on the ensuing free throw. The two squads traded the lead three times before the Wildcats began an 11-2 run to close out the first quarter with an 18-8 lead.

Toppenish’s defense routinely broke up and intercepted Knight passes, trapping those with possession of the ball to force turnovers and generate offense on fast breaks. Facing a tough defense made it challenging for Royal to move the ball, as the Knights were held to 20 first-half points and trailing 32-20.

Wardenaar said Toppenish was the first defense that had pressured the Knights like that so far this season.

“We expected it from Toppenish; we watched film, we knew that’s what they were going to do to us,” Wardenaar said. “We’re light on ball-handlers this year, so we’ve got a lot of young kids playing. They’ll keep getting better.”

Royal’s offensive woes carried on into the second half, as the Knights didn’t record a basket until three minutes after the start of the third quarter when senior Brynn Morgan connected on a shot from under the hoop. After another scoring drought, Royal added late baskets from Morgan and sophomore Taylor Webb to cut the Wildcat lead to 46-27 entering the final frame.

It was a slow fourth quarter for both squads, as both Toppenish and Royal scored nine and five points, respectively, over the final eight minutes. Royal’s scores came from baskets and free throws by senior Kenia Orth, sophomore Jillian Allred and Morgan.

“The biggest takeaway is we need to step up our practices,” Wardenaar said. “We’ve got to practice like how we’re going to play, and we’ve got to raise to the intensity.”

Bergeson led the Knights with 11 points in Thursday’s loss, all of which came in the first half. Morgan’s six points were the second-most.

“One of the things that we’re going to change next year is we need more games,” Wardenaar said. “This is only our fifth game, and we need to get some more games early in the season.”

Royal, who dropped to 1-4 with the loss, has nearly a week off before traveling to the Freeman Basketball Tournament on Wednesday.

Following the girls game, the Royal boys took on Toppenish in a 62-41 win for the Knights to improve to 3-3. The Royal boys travel to Lind-Ritzville/Sprague on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box score

TOP: 18-14-15-9 56
ROY: 8-12-7-5 32

    Royal senior Raegan Wardenaar (15) dribbles the ball up the floor against Toppenish.
  

    Royal junior Audrey Bergeson (23) attempts a shot in the third quarter. Bergeson led the Knights with 11 points against the Wildcats.
  

    Royal freshman Vanesa Cedillo looks for an open lane in the fourth quarter against Toppenish.