TACOMA, Wash. — Let’s face it, adults are so good at strangling a moment.
Royal High School hasn’t played in a meaningful WIAA girls basketball playoff game in 25 years. But on Friday, the Knights hopped on a bus and drove for four hours for their Class 1A regional game against Annie Wright.
Were they going to be ready?
Were they going to have the legs to run with the fast-paced Gators?
Was their youth going to hold them back?
In the end, none of those became a problem.
Led by junior Graycie Kast’s game-high 25 points, fifth-seeded Royal rode a hot start to upend No. 4 Annie Wright, 57-45, at the UPS Memorial Fieldhouse.
With the win, the Knights get to celebrate their first state trip to the Yakima Valley SunDome since 2001 with a Wednesday bye, automatically moving into the state quarterfinals Thursday.
Ninth grader Lauren Wardenaar added 17 points as Royal led by as many as 20 points late in the first half, but had to stave off a spirited Annie Wright comeback in the fourth quarter.
“I am so proud of them,” Royal girls coach Farrah Wardenaar said. “We’ve been talking a lot about getting ourselves to Thursday. This is pretty cool.”
The Knights scored the first 12 points Friday, grabbed a 40-20 lead on Vanesa Cedillo’s 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining in the first half - and all seemed rather stress-free in a playoff game.
Then, the offense dried up.
Here came the Gators, who closed it to 48-42 on Terrah Nichols-Whitmore’s steal and layin with three minutes remaining.
But Lauren Wardenaar buried a corner 3-pointer 28 seconds later to trigger a final 7-0 run, which was capped by Briana Cedillo’s nifty leaner in the lane to push the Knights’ lead to 54-42 with 1:50 remaining.
“We found a way,” Lauren Wardenaar said.
Added Kast, who transferred to the school from Moses Lake during the summer: “This feels like a big win.”
LAKE WASHINGTON UPENDS LAST UNDEFEATED 4A GIRLS TEAM
Lake Washington made the 200-plus-mile trip to the Tri-Cities for Friday night’s 4A girls basketball state regionals meeting with Chiawana — and will travel back having earned an extra rest day before continuing its tournament run in the Tacoma Dome next week.
The No. 6 seed Kangaroos built an early double-digit lead and never trailed in their 59-48 win over No. 3 seed Chiawana at Richland High School, advancing to the state quarterfinals with the victory — while also limiting the Riverhawks to a season-low scoring total, and handing Chiawana its first loss of the season.
Lake Washington opened the game on a quick 10-2 run in the first three minutes, and had a double-digit lead for good by the 6:19 point in the second quarter on a Julia Benthin basket.
The Kangaroos led by as many as 21 in the second half on a Stella Kott 3-pointer with two minutes to go in the third. Chiawana closed the gap to 10 points twice in the final two minutes of the fourth, but never got closer.
Ashley Uusitalo scored a game-high 29 points for Lake Washington, while Ileana Olteanu added 13 and Benthin had 12.
Kailee Maldonado led the Riverhawks with 16, Chloe Clyde added 12 and Baylee Maldonado had nine.
After entering Friday night’s game a perfect 25-0, the Riverhawks — the 4A/3A Mid-Columbia Conference and 4A District 6 champions — now play a loser-out game in the first round Wednesday in the Tacoma Dome.
Chiawana will play the winner of Saturday afternoon’s regional matchup between No. 14 Redmond and No. 11 Kennedy Catholic for a trip to the quarterfinals.
Lake Washington (19-9) earns a first-round bye with the victory, and plays in the quarterfinals at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in the Tacoma Dome.
BELLARMINE PREP HOLDS OFF EASTSIDE CATHOLIC IN WILD FINAL MINUTE
Bellarmine Prep boys basketball will likely still make the short four-mile trip to the Tacoma Dome for Wednesday’s first round of the 3A state tournament — but just to watch.
The No. 5 seed Lions traveled north for a state regionals meeting with No. 4 seed Eastside Catholic on Friday night, and rallied from down as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter for a 60-59 win at Issaquah High School.
Ben Heisel rolled in a contested driving layup for what turned out to be the game-winner with 14 seconds to play, sending the 3A Puget Sound League champions directly to the quarterfinals next week back home in Tacoma.
In a back-and-forth contest Friday, Eastside Catholic built the game’s largest lead to 10 points with less than six minutes to play in the fourth on a Steven Sun 3-pointer.
The Lions closed the gap over the next five minutes, retaking the lead on a Birk Johnston 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, but a pair of free throws from Sun gave the Crusaders a 59-58 advantage 20 seconds later.
Heisel answered with the go-ahead basket on the following possession, and the Crusaders couldn’t connect on three shot attempts during the final seconds, as Bellarmine Prep closed out the win.
Ronnie Wiggins led the Lions with 21 points — including five 3-pointers — while Johnston added 13, Elliott Stevenson had 11 and Luke Heisel had 10.
Yabi Aklog paced Eastside Catholic with 21 points, while Anthony Williams added 14.
The Crusaders (19-10) still advance to the first round at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Tacoma Dame, and play a loser-out contest against the winner of Saturday afternoon’s regional between No. 13 Central Valley and No. 12 Liberty of Issaquah.
The Lions (22-3) begin their Tacoma Dome run at 9 a.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
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