MADISON – The small details made a big difference Saturday, and not in Aberdeen Roncalli’s favor, as the Cavaliers dropped a 56-53 triple-overtime girls’ basketball decision to West Central at the Dak XII/NEC Clash in Madison.
Roncalli committed an abundance of turnovers and misfired on nearly half of its 28 free-throw attempts.
“We had opportunities in the first half if we didn’t turn it over and we made some bunnies early,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “We did a better job of that in the second half of making bunnies, but we turned it over so many times in the full court.”
Larson noted both teams had to deal with a bit of exhaustion, but said that was inherent in a 3-overtime contest.
Roncalli led 51-46 in the third overtime, but was unable to maintain the lead. The Cavaliers also had other chances to secure the win, but were not able to cash in.
“We had a shot in regulation and in every overtime,” Larson said. “We had opportunities to win and didn’t convert.”
Roncalli was led by Claire Crawford’s 20 points. Crawford hit six 3-pointers, including some crucial ones at the end of regulation and in the overtime periods.
West Central was led by Kacey Jaton with 26 points. Jaton finished the game going 10-for-14 from the free-throw line.
“We also had to play a ton of our bench,” Larson said. “We had foul trouble and people that don’t necessarily see a ton of minutes had minutes, and I thought they gave us really good minutes. Pleased with our effort, not pleased with the outcome.”
Roncalli’s upcoming slate doesn’t get much easier with second-rated and one-loss Hamlin looming on Tuesday. Larson said his squad will need to be able to learn from Saturday’s outcome going forward.
“We for sure need to learn from it,” he said. “I thought we got really flustered in the full-court trying to break their press. First time it happened like that in a couple years. We’ve got to make sure we play under composure a little more than what we did.”
ABERDEEN RONCALLI (12-3): Gabby Thomas 2 3-7 7, Morgan Helms 1 5-8 8, Claire Crawford 6 2-2 20, Karsyn Davis 2 0-0 4, Rylee Voeller 1 3-6 6, Jillian Ellwein 2 0-2 5, Elyana Roach 1 0-0 2, Grace Cogley 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 14-27 53.
WEST CENTRAL (11-4): Ellie Knight 7 1-3 15, Bailey Stallman 1 0-0 3, MacKenzie Skonhoval 1 0-0 2, Kacey Jaton 7 10-14 26, Kaylie Schultz 2 2-2 7, Abbi Thornton 1 1-2 3. Totals 19 14-21 56.
Aberdeen Roncalli 8 13 18 35 42 46 53
West Central 6 16 27 35 42 46 56
3-pt field goals – Crawford 6, Helms, Voeller, Ellwein; Stallman, Jaton 2, Schultz. Fouled out – Helms; Thornton. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 17; West Central 20.
