Claire Killian admitted that she was disappointed with her play in the first half of Watertown-Mayer’s quarterfinal game against Rochester Lourdes. So the senior guard, helped by a little self-talk, took it upon herself to step up her play after halftime and scored 19 of her 22 points to lift the Royals to a 71-58 victory.

Killian had nearly as many fouls, two, as she did points in the first half, which weighed on her as the first half ended.

“When halftime came around, I changed my mindset,” Killian said. “I told myself I have to do what I‘m capable of doing.”

The Royals (27-3) trailed Lourdes 41-34 early in the second half when Killian supplied the game’s biggest sequence. She hit consecutive three-pointers to cut the lead to 41-40 and triggered a 21-5 run that turned a seven-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

“That just provided the spark,” she said. “Once we realized we had the momentum, we realized we could keep it going, even if it’s not me scoring.”

Watertown-Mayer led 30-28 at halftime thanks to the interior presence of center Monika Czinano, who scored 11 points, and the outside shooting of Kirstin Klitzke, who hit three three-pointers and had 12 points in the first half. Klitzke added two more three-pointers and ended up scoring 23 points. Czinano finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

JIM PAULSEN

Led by the inspired play of senior guard Claire Killian and the three-point shooting of backcourt-mate Kirstin Klitzke, Watertown-Mayer used a 21-5 second half spurt to fend off determined Rochester Lourdes for a 71-58 victory.

Killian scored 19 of her 22 points after halftime and Klitzke drained five three-pointers for the No. 3-seeded Royals (27-3), who trailed 41-34 before the run.

Come back for more on this game later Wednesday night.