MILBANK – Aberdeen Roncalli jumped in front early and scored a big 52-33 Northeast Conference girls’ basketball victory over Milbank Thursday night on the road.
The eighth-rated Cavaliers were able to shut down the Bulldogs in the post, then shut them down during a third-quarter rally to secure the win, which may have region tournament implications down the road.
“Big win on the road,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “We shot it well when we needed to, and we defended well in the post. Their two posts are pretty good.”
In addition to the Cavaliers’ post defense, Larson said his guards played good helpside defense, which allowed Roncalli to build its lead early.
Milbank made a bit of a run in the third, using a handful of Cavalier turnovers and transition buckets to bite into Roncalli’s advantage.
The Cavaliers, however, shut off the rally with one of their own.
“Claire (Crawford) hit some big ones,” Larson said. “Elyana Roach came up clutch in the high post.”
Crawford finished the night with a game-best 19 points, hitting five total 3-pointers in the game. Three of those came during that critical third quarter.
Roach came off the bench for 10 points, while Gabby Thomas chipped in seven.
Milbank was led by Belle Pauli with 12 points. Anna Neugebauer tossed in eight points for the Bulldogs.
Larson said the win was definitely important, but forgettable in the long run.
“We gotta forget about this one pretty quick because we’ve got to go play West Central Saturday in Madison,” Larson said.
That contest will take place as part of the Dak XII/NEC Clash. West Central (10-4) is receiving votes in the latest poll. Three of those four losses have come recently, all to ranked opponents with a combined five losses.
Tipoff for Saturday’s contest is set for 2:45 p.m. in Madison.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI (12-2): Gabby Thomas 2 1-2 7, Claire Crawford 6 2-2 19, Karsyn Davis 3 0-0 6, Rylee Voeller 2 0-0 4, Jillian Ellwein 2 0-0 4, Elyana Roach 4 2-2 10, Olivia Dix 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 5-6 52.
MILBANK (10-4): Susie Schuneman 2 1-2 6, Belle Pauli 3 5-7 12, Anna Neugebauer 3 2-2 8, Bree Townsend 1 0-0 3, Violet Johnson 0 1-2 1, Bailee Hendricks 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 9-13 33.
Aberdeen Roncalli 18 32 44 52
Milbank 6 15 24 33
3-pt field goals – Thomas 2, Crawford 5; Schoneman, Pauli, Townsend Hendricks. Totals fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 13; Milbank 10.
