Royal girls close tough season

ROYAL CITY - The Royal High girls suffered a second half collapse Friday night and fell, 59-28, to Kiona-Benton in their final SCAC East basketball contest of the year.

The Knights battled for a half, trailing the tough Bears by only 22-19 at the half. Then the Bears blew through the third period for a commanding 44-25 lead.

"This game really summed up our year, coach Phil Daubel said. "We played a great first half and kind of fell apart in the second half. We were never able to put together that full 32 minutes this season."

The scoring leader, with eight points, was senior Kailee Harris. She was also a rebounding leader with six boards.

Senior Jacky Guadarrama had an all-around outstanding night. She scored seven points, picked off six rebounds, dished out three assists and executed four steals.

Another senior, Flor Araujo, contributed six points and finished the season as one of the league's scoring leaders. It will be a surprise if she does not receive all-league honors.

The loss left the Knights with a final record of 1-19. It was especially tough for the seniors, who suffered through a long down cycle in Royal girls basketball.

"I am extremely proud of my seniors tonight (Flor, Jacky, and Kailee)," Daubel said.

Araujo was a four year starter and a leader. She finished the year with 214 points, more than 100 in front of the second leading scorer. She also took down 69 rebounds and made 39 steals. Her scoring average was 11.3 points per game.

"She came a long way as a player and having to step up and be a leader," Daubel said.

Guadarrama was the heart and soul of the team, Daubel said. She never backed down and was "blood and guts" every night, always giving everything she had.

Guadarrama was the second leading scorer with 78 points. She grabbed 90 rebounds, made 32 steals and handed out 47 assists.

"Kailee improved so much over the years," Daubel said. "This girl came from a C team-intramural player in the middle school to a varsity starter. She always was good for a joke or her patent splash pose after a made jump shot."

Harris was one of the rebounding leaders, corralling 80 of the loose balls. She scored 48 points and made 14 steals.

The future for the Knights could be bright. Among the girls who will return next year is rebounding leader Jennifer Ledezma. She grabbed 113 for the year. She scored 68 points and had 17 steals.

Also returning will be Guadalupe Guadarrama and Stephanie Rodriguez, who nabbed 72 and 59 rebounds respectively.