ROYAL – The Royal Knights girls basketball team played a home game against the Wahluke Warriors on Friday, where they added an 85-26 victory to their season. This matchup was one of two for the Knights over the weekend as they get their season going. 

“It was a good win for us. We came off a loss against Wapato on Tuesday, so we had a lot of things we wanted to work on and one of them was our outside shooting,” said Knights head coach Farrah Wardenaar. “I thought everybody did well tonight.” 

The Knights got off to a hot start putting up 23 points in the first quarter while holding the Warriors to seven. Wahluke put up a strong performance in the second half as they would score another seven but would then hold Royal to 12 to keep the game within grasp at 35-14 by halftime. 

In the third quarter, Wahluke would work to hang on by putting up nine, but the Knights would extend their lead even further, adding 28 points onto the scoreboard. Royal would add another 22 points in the fourth quarter and keep the Warriors to only three points to end the game 85-26.  

“This was our third league game and our goal is to be top three,” said Wardenaar. “If you want to be in the top three, you’ve got to win all these games.” 

Royal continued this mindset into their next matchup against Cashmere, where they earned a 40-28 victory over their opponent. This win puts the Knights in fourth place in the South Central Athletic Conference, just one league victory behind Cashmere. 

Wardenaar said a key takeaway for the team following the weekend was that they need to play their hardest each matchup. The team did a great job keeping up that energy throughout both games and that reflected in their success. 

“They’ve got to always go out on the court and play hard every time, they’ve got to play with intensity,” she said. “I’m really excited about our bench energy; it’s been awesome. Just keep working hard and good things will happen.” 

As the Knights head into the bulk of the season, the coach said they’re going to play their game and give their opponents the best competition they can with the strong group of seniors they have. 

Warriors Head Coach Mikai Hirai said coming into Friday’s matchup, they knew that the Knights would be a tough opponent to beat, but on the court Warriors did a good job of sticking to it. The second quarter was something he was very proud of as they kept the score very close to stay in the game as they went into the half. 

He said while the Warriors kept to their assignments well, the team began to run out of energy in the second half. They also entered the game short two of the normal varsity starters which also contributed to their struggles. 

“We’re not exactly an offensive juggernaut but defensively, I feel like that’s kind of the potential that we have and we held Royal to 12 points and I felt pretty good,” said Hirai. “I felt like we had a pretty good showing despite the challenges.” 

The coach said this game really showed the Warriors that they have what it takes to compete with the top teams in the league; it just comes down to working on specific aspects of the game to get better.  

Moving forward with the season, Hirai said he wants the team to focus on being more aggressive on offense, especially with the games ahead. He wants the team to take any shot they can, regardless of the time on the shot clock and try and prevent turnovers, which have plagued the team this season. 

“I feel like we’re in a good spot and we’re always working on defense, but I think offensively is where we have a lot of room to improve,” he said. 

The Knights’ next two games will be on the road as they will head to play Chaparral at 1 p.m. Saturday and Scottsdale Christian at 3 p.m. Monday before returning home Tuesday to play Bear Creek at 1 p.m. The Warriors return home Friday to play Granger at 6:30, then will head on the road to play Sunnyside Christian at 3 p.m. Saturday and River View at 5 p.m. Monday. 

BOX SCORES:  

GAME ONE: 

ROYL: 23-12-28-22: 85
WHLK: 7-7-9-3: 26 

GAME TWO:  

ROYL: 13-6-14-7: 40
CASH:1-9-5-13: 28 

Royal Roster:  

Name, Jersey, Grade 

Olivia Wardenaar, 2, 9
Justine Fitzhugh, 4, 9
Maggie Frank, 5, 11
Vanesa Cedillo, 10, 11
Briana Cedillo, 11, 12
Lauren Wardenaar, 14, 9
Haidyn Sutor, 15, 12
Lauren Allred, 20, 11
Graycie Kast, 22, 11
Akleigh Hebdon, 23, 9
Sarah Bergeson, 25, 10
Paige Christensen, 32, 11
Taylor Webb, 33, 12
Avarie Hill, 34, 12 

Wahluke Roster: 

Name, Jersey, Grade 

Jayla Cardenas, 0, 9
Ashya Erazo, 1, 11
Valerie Segura Espindola, 3, 12
Yohary Magana, 11, 11
Mia Morales, 12, 10
Fernanda Pineda, 21, 11
Mariah Andrade, 22, 19
Irene Pacheco, 23, 9
Alexandra Rodriguez, 24, 10
Analina Martinez, 33, 10
Gabriela Martinez Santa Ana, 50, 10 

    Royal freshman Akleigh Hebdon shoots for three against Wahluke during Friday’s matchup.
  

    Wahluke’s Yohary Magana looks for an opening to make a move on offense after gaining possession of the ball against Royal.
  

    Lauren Wardenaar from the Knights looks for an opening past Warriors defenders Ashya Erazo (1) and Analina Martinez (33)
  

    Analina Martinez, a sophomore for the Warriors, takes the ball toward the net while keeping her eyes on the opposing Knights defenders.
  

    Maggie Frank, a Royal junior, looks to pass the ball with Mia Morales, a Wahluke sophomore,