It will go down as a buzzer-beater for Mobridge-Pollock’s Faith Heil, but the deciding moments of Tuesday night’s 46-44 non-conference girls’ basketball victory over Aberdeen Roncalli came much earlier in the contest.

The eighth-rated Tigers stretched a 1-point halftime lead into as much as a 9-point lead late in the third quarter, giving them just enough of a cushion to withstand a late Roncalli run.

“Like we told the girls, we didn’t lose that game at the end,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “We lost in the third and fourth quarter.”

Trailing by one at the break, Roncalli turned the ball over on its first four possessions of the third quarter. Those miscues, along with missed opportunities on the offensive end and a 13-for-26 showing at the free throw line, allowed the Tigers to inch ever so steadily away.

“We did the same thing against Redfield at home last week,” Larson noted. “We came out and turned the ball over too many times.”

Still, the Cavaliers fought their way back, pulling to within two points with just under 30 seconds remaining. Claire Crawford tied the game with a rhythm 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play before Heil dropped in the game-winning bucket for her sixth point of the night.

Mobridge-Pollock got a game-best 26-point effort from Blake Thompson, who was effective all game long.

“We knew going in that Blake Thompson was going to be really good,” Larson said. “She had 26 tonight, but I thought we still did a good job on her. … We knew we were going to have some tough matchups.”

Roncalli was led by Rylee Voeller’s 11 points. Gabby Thomas added 10 more and Olivia Dix came off the bench for eight.

Larson noted that, while the outcome was disappointing for the Cavaliers, there were some positive things to take away from it, notably the team’s high-low post entry and defensive energy.

“We have to make sure we’re learning from this game, getting better from this game,” Larson said.

Roncalli (2-1) will head to Warner on Thursday, while Mobridge-Pollock (2-0) heads home to host Timber Lake on Friday.

MOBRIDGE-POLLOCK (2-0): Tegan Konold 3 0-1 6, Jacy Netterville 1 0-2 2, Brooke Bain 1 0-0 3, Faith Heil 2 2-2 6, Blake Thompson 9 5-8 26, Jayda Thompson 0 3-4 3. Totals 16 10-17 46.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (2-1): Gabby Thomas 5 0-0 10, Morgan Helms 1 2-5 4, Claire Crawford 2 0-0 5, Karsyn Davis 1 4-6 6, Rylee Voeller 3 3-3 11, Jillian Ellwein 0 0-2 0, Elyana Roach 0 0-2 0, Olivia Dix 2 4-8 8. Totals 14 13-26 44.

Mobridge-Pollock 14 25 35 46

Aberdeen Roncalli 13 24 29 44

3-pt field goals – Bain, B. Thompson 3; Crawford, Voeller 2. Totals fouls – Mobridge-Pollock 21; Aberdeen Roncalli 15.