Brianna Rose of South Prairie-Max finds herself sandwiched between Watford City's Bailey Mattson and Harlee Jacobson (3) on Thursday, March 5, during the 2026 NDHSAA Division A Girls Basketball State Tournament at the Jamestown Civic Center. John Steiner/Jamestown Sun

The South Prairie-Max Royals continued their post-season tear through the state as they dominated the eighth-seeded Watford City Wolves in their quarterfinals match of the 2026 NDHSAA Division A Girls Basketball State Tournament.

Hot off the heels of their first ever region title after their sweep through the 2026 NDHSAA Region 3A Girls Basketball Tournament, the Royals were looking to continue their drive to a state title. Their victory on Thursday night, Mar. 5, was just the first step towards their state title dream.

From the get-go, the Royals displayed their aggressive play style that helped carry them so far this season. The Royals dominated the first quarter of play, scoring 20 points in the first eight minutes while allowing the Wolves just nine points. The second quarter went much the same as the first, with the Royals earning another 16 points to give themselves a score of 36 at halftime while allowing the Wolves only up to a 16 point score at the end of the second quarter.

The numbers at half time showed just how much more active the Royals were on the court, making twelve more field goal attempts than the Wolves and scoring a higher percentage of those attempts than the Wolves.

And that trend continued through the second half of the ball game.

The Royals continued to put up more and more field goal attempts during the game while denying the Wolves’ offense from catching up. The Royals scored another 24 and 15 points in the third and fourth quarters while giving up only three and six points respectively.

At the end of the game, the Royals had a clear, dominant victory over the Wolves at 75-25, tripling Watford City’s score.

Senior Skotti Beck led the charge for the Royals on Thursday night, earning the Royals 19 points individually in her over 16 minutes of playtime.

The Royals advanced to the 2026 NDHSAA Division A Girls Basketball State Tournament semifinals, set to begin at 8:15 p.m. in Jamestown.