CLARK – Aberdeen Roncalli found the spurt it wanted which turned into the separation it needed, in a key Northeast Conference girls’ basketball game in Clark Thursday night.

The Cavaliers had just enough of a margin to hold off Clark-Willow Lake 49-43 to remain unbeaten in NEC play.

Roncalli scored seven unanswered points to close out the first half and extend a two-point edge to a nine-point cushion. The margin, which ballooned to 37-22 at one stretch, never got under seven until the final seconds when Clark-Willow Lake made a layup at the buzzer.

The Cavaliers consistently attacked the rim for high-percentage shot attempts, which often resulted in free throws.

“I thought we were much more aggressive tonight. We shot 21 free throws, which doesn’t happen all the time for us,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “We did a good job getting to the free-throw line, but just attacking the rim more than we have in the past. We want to maybe put more of an emphasis on that than we have recently. We can’t just be a jump-shooting team, and make sure we’re still getting to the rim.”

While foul shots were a key, it was a pair of 3-pointers from Rylee Voeller that helped the Cavaliers get that separation in the opening half.

“When we’re able to spread the floor, and whoever has to guard her has to guard her all the way out to the 3-point line, it’s defininltey advantageous for us,” Larson said.

Voeller was also the recipient of another remarkable bounce pass from Ava Hanson in the third quarter. Hanson, who spotted a different teammate on a bounce pass two weeks ago, somehow got the ball through traffic to Voeller who caught it, scored and was fouled.

“She threw the pass and just anticipated her being open, because when she threw it, there was no way she knew she was going to be that open, and Rylee was just fortunate enough to catch the ball,” Larson said. “It was coming pretty hot off that bounce pass. Again, it was a phenomenal pass.”

Still, the Cavaliers had a hard time shaking the Cyclones, who were led in scoring by Brynn Roehrich with 15 points.

“They are so much improved from last year,” Larson said. “Their big girl, the Roehrich girl inside was tough for us to guard.”

The Cavaliers countered with a balanced attack led by Maddie Huber with 19 points. Voeller and Hanson each added 11.

“I know this doesn’t show up in the box score, but I thought Claire Crawford probably had her best defensive night of the year tonight,” Larson said, “just kind of hounding the (Kamryn) Nesheim girl.”

Roncalli, 8-2 overall, has another key NEC matchup coming up on Tuesday at Groton. The contest will also be key for seed points in Region 1A.

“They are one of the seriously premier teams on the defensive end,” Larson said. “They can really defend.”

It will likely be another one of those typical Roncalli-Groton battles.

“Points are going to be a premium. It’s going to be a close game,” Larson said. “The atmosphere is going to be wild in Groton. It’s going to really come down to who’s making big shots at the right times.”

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (8-2): Maddie Huber 6 6-8 19, Claire Crawford 3 1-2 7, Rylee Voeller 4 1-3 11, Ava Hanson 4 3-4 11, Gabby Thomas 0 0-2 0, Morgan Helms 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 12-21 49.

CLARK-WILLOW LAKE (8-4): Johanna Vandersnick 2 0-0 4, Tehya Vig 3 3-4 9, Kamryn Nesheim 2 0-1 4, Shelby Begeman 3 0-0 8, Brynn Roehrich 6 3-4 15, Jenny Bevers 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 6-9 43.

Aberdeen Roncalli 15 25 39 49

Clark-Willow Lake 7 16 26 43

3-point field goals – Huber, Voeller 2; Begeman 2, Bevers. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 12; Clark-Willow Lake 15.