TOPPENISH — The battle for first place in the 1A District 6 tournament came to a close last Friday when the Royal Knights fell to Zillah 46-56. With the Knights taking second in districts, they prepare to enter the state tournament as the fifth seed. 

“We were pretty excited to make it to the district championship game,” said head coach Farrah Wardenaar. “The Royal girls had not been there in a long time, and I think nerves got the best of us, but we came within three points, so we gave them a game.” 

The excitement for this game had been building up throughout the season as Royal and Zillah had built themselves up as the top two teams in the South Central Athletic Conference. Wardenaar said the gym was filled with fans as the battle between these two schools was happening for both the boys and girls teams. 

“The gym was packed. Both schools had bands there. It was so exciting,” she said. “I told the girls, ‘There’ll be very few games in your life that will be this exciting and have this atmosphere.’” 

Zillah had strong momentum coming into the game and gained a 14-point lead over Royal by the end of the first quarter. The Knights’ defense had more success holding down Zillah’s offensive push in the second quarter and put up a few more points, but by the end of the half, still trailed 19-37. 

Coming out of halftime, the Knights began to chip away at Zilah’s lead. Royal outscored Zillah in the third quarter, cutting the Leopards’ lead back down to 14 points as they entered the final eight minutes of the district championships. 

In the fourth quarter, Royal put up its highest-scoring run with 16 points, but Zillah remained vigilant in maintaining its lead. Ultimately, the Knights came up 10 points shy of the district title, but with a second-place finish, the team still gets the opportunity to compete at state. 

Knights junior Graycie Kast led the team on offense with 15 points scored. Following close behind was freshman Lauren Wardenaar with 11 points and junior Maggie Frank with nine points. 

Despite coming off a loss in the district championships, Wardenaar said the girls are very excited to enter the state tournament as the number five seed. The Knights are preparing for their matchup against Annie Wright School, from Tacoma, tomorrow evening, and earn a victory in the opening round of state. 

The coach said Royal’s greatest strength is in how well-conditioned the team is. 

“We have some exceptional three-point shooters and we’ve got a couple of players who can post up, they can play at the perimeter, so I think they’re going to be tricky for teams to match up well with,” said Wardenaar. 

She said the focus Friday will be to get better on offensive execution and maintain composure. Defensively, she wants to try and combat Annie Wright’s aggressive attacks on the hoop and slow down the opposition as much as possible. 

“Annie Wright is very physical, they’re very aggressive, but we’re a very capable team, so just really focusing on the mental side of it and believing that we belong here,” said Wardenaar. 

One thing the coach said she wants to emphasize as the girls make their run in the state tournament is enjoying the experience and recognizing that the hard work they put in all season got them this far. The last time Royal entered the state tournament was 2001, which makes this season all the more special for this team. 

“I’m excited for this experience for the girls,” said Wardenaar. 

The Knights begin their state run Friday, traveling to the University of Puget Sound to face the number four-seeded Annie Wright at 6 p.m. 

BOX SCORE 

ROYL: 8-11-11-16: 46
ZILL: 22-15-7-12: 56 

    Royal freshman Lauren Wardenaar makes a free throw shot during a regular season matchup this season. Wardenaar added 11 points to the Knights’ score during the district championship game Friday.
  

    Maggie Frank, a junior for the Knights, guards against a Zillah player during a previous matchup this season. In the district championship game Friday, Frank added nine points to the scoreboard for Royal.