Azjiah Trader (3) and Rylee Routledge (1) of the South Prairie-Max Royals each scored in double-digits to help the team beat the Dragons by a final of 87-47 on Tuesday night.

Coming off a 32-point victory over Stanley at the Minot Auditorium Shootout, securing their first win of the season, the South Prairie-Max girls’ basketball team hosted Dunseith on Tuesday as they look to continue their winning ways.

The Royals (2-1 overall, 1-1 Region 6) got eight or more points out of four players in the win and will look to continue utilizing balanced team play during their matchup with the Dragons (1-3 overall, 0-0 Region 4). On the other side, the Dragons have lost two in a row and will try to end the small losing skid.

Through unselfish play, excellent passing, and a balanced attack, the Royals would pick up their second win in a row as they took down the Dragons 87-47 on Tuesday night at home.

Making her season debut for the Royals was Azjiah Trader, who wasted no time showing an aggressive attack by getting to the basket for an easy layup to give the Royals a 4-0 lead after Abby Mikkelson scored on the possession before.

After consecutive 3-pointers by Rylee Routledge and Skotti Beck, the Royals were quickly showing a balanced effort once again, as they had four players getting involved early to give the team a 10-6 lead at the halfway mark of the opening quarter.

Defensively, both teams were utilizing a full-court press which created a variety of turnovers both ways, helping the Dragons stay in it as they cut the lead to 18-13 with 2:11 left in the quarter. A buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Hannah Poitra gave the Dragons the lead at 22-21 at the end of the first quarter.

Starting the second quarter off on a run were the Royals with Delaney Hankel finding Beck on a beautiful no-look pass for an easy layup. Trader would score on the next possession and all the sudden, the Royals took control again as they led 28-22 with 5:00 left in the half.

At this point in the contest, the Royals began getting a frequency of transition baskets and they displayed excellent passing to open lanes and stretched their lead to double-digits. Thanks to a 19-2 run, they took a commanding 40-24 lead with 2:48 left in the half. With a late 3-pointer by Kenya Poitra, the Dragons would cut the lead to 47-31 at the break.

Maintaining a large lead were the Royals, which reached 20 points in the third quarter, as their unselfish play created a plethora of high-percentage shots. They had no issues sinking those opportunities as they came out of the break owning a 60-40 advantage. Beck was making a huge impact on the offensive side of the ball, hitting many shots from close range, and added multiple baskets in the third quarter. With the help of Beck and many other Royals players, they took a 72-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

On a night where things weren’t going right for the Dragons, they continued to get the last basket at the end of each quarter and would look to use that as momentum moving into the final frame.

Nearing the halfway mark of the fourth quarter, Mya Gunville of the Royals would score on a transition layup off a steal, which is something that the Royals excelled in all night. They held an 80-46 lead and were looking to close out strong. They would do so, securing their second win in a row by beating the Dragons 87-47.

Skotti Beck led the way for the Royals with 21 points in the win. Rylee Routledge (17), Abby Mikkelson (16), Azjiah Trader (12), Delaney Hankel (6), Hattie Heer (6), Kaimbree Gerding (5), and Mya Gunville (2) all chipped in as well.

Up next, the Royals will remain at home where they will host the Drake-Anamoose Raiders on Thursday, Dec. 8 for a Region 6 showdown, with tip scheduled for 5:45 p.m.