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 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.”