Gettysburg got back to its game plan and continued its winning ways Thursday night.

The Battlers broke open a tight contest in the third quarter and picked up their fourth straight girls’ basketball win with a 46-25 non-conference victory over Aberdeen Christian at the Christian School Gym.

Leading just 28-23, Gettysburg scored 18 unanswered points to pull away.

“Our game plan was to come out attacking from the start,” said Gettysburg coach Tricia Heien, “so I think it was just reminding them like we have to stick to what we’ve got to do here. … We started running some more sets just to kind of get the movement and get open.”

Layla Cronin played a key role in the triumph. The freshman finished with a career-high 18 points.

“I’ve been practicing my shot a lot, and it finally just kind of worked out tonight,” said Cronin, who finished the opening quarter with a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left, closed the second quarter with another 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining, and then nailed a foul-line jumper right before the buzzer at the end of the third quarter.

She said it was her team’s defense that fueled the pivotal surge against Christian.

“We really just got some good defensive stops,” Cronin said, “and then we just started making shots, and really working together.”

The Knights pushed Gettysburg hard for two and half quarters as Erika Moulsoff came off the bench to score seven points. The junior helped to provide some inside punch in the absence of Sophia Eichler, who was out of town.

“With Sophia being gone and just seeing her aggression not being there, I thought I’d really try and step up and try and take that aggression,” Moulsoff said, “especially with rebounds.”

Moulsoff not only grabbed a handful of rebounds, she scored seven points.

“I don’t know if it was just mood and mindset, but it worked,” Moulsoff said.

While Moulsoff looked right at home on the court, she said she had a few jitters when she entered the game.

“I was a little bit nervous, just because I don’t really know the plays that well,” Moulsoff said. “I just went out and played basketball and got open when I could.”

Moulsoff’s impact off the bench drew the praise of Christian coach Matt Rohrbach.

“She was great. High energy and she’s strong, and came in and hit a shot right away when she got in the ball game and had a couple offensive rebounds,” Rohrbach said. “And that’s really kind of what we need to see for our girls program to succeed and get better, is girls pushing girls to want minutes to get better, pushing them in practice.”

Peyton Stevens added 10 points to the Gettysburg total, while Emma Schlachter contributed eight.

The Battlers have rebounded strong since losing six straight games to start the season.

“Our schedule was pretty tough there … It was kind of a tough go,” Heien said. “I think just getting our legs and settling in, and getting used to playing with each other.”

Cronin said a big difference has been the team’s play on the defensive end.

“We just got that grit on our shoulder and just went after it,” Cronin said. “We just had great defensive games and started rolling.”

Jolie Fogarty led Christian with eight points.

While the Knights stayed within striking distance, they were unable to overcome a two-point fourth quarter.

“We struggle a little bit obviously scoring the basketball sometimes,” Rohrbach said, “and I think tonight it was just maybe getting it to the shots that we didn’t want, and had a problem with turnovers.”

Christian, 0-8 on the campaign, plays Herreid-Selby Area at Selby tonight in a game that was postponed earlier this season.

The Knights continue to gain confidence as the season progresses and Thursday marked a big step for Moulsoff.

“I’m definitely growing when it comes to being more aggressive,” Moulsoff said, “and not being afraid to just get in there.”

GETTYSBURG (4-6): Finley Heien 3 0-0 6, Emma Schlachter 4 0-0 8, Layla Cronin 5 6-6 18, Peyton Stevens 4 2-2 10, Jadyn Ahlemeier 1 0-0 2, Skyler Oster 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 8-8 46.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-8): Ari Johnson 1 1-2 3, Jolie Fogarty 3 0-0 8, Reagan Jett 2 0-0 4, Lucy Jones 1 0-0 3, Erika Moulsoff 3 1-2 7. Totals 10 2-4 25.

Gettysburg 15 22 34 46

Aberdeen Christian 5 12 23 25

3-point field goals – Cronin 2; Jolie Fogarty 2, Jones. Fouled out – Jacie Fogerty. Total fouls – Gettysburg 7; Aberdeen Christian 9. Rebounds – Gettysburg 41; Aberdeen Christian 42. Turnovers – Gettysburg 7; Aberdeen Christian 23.