With a fuel tank close to empty, Aberdeen Roncalli’s superior depth came into play Monday night.

Despite playing their fourth game in seven days, energy was not an issue for the 10th-rated Cavaliers in a 57-36 non-conference girls’ basketball victory over Herreid-Selby Area at Roncalli Gym.

Roncalli not only received 15 points from its reserves, the bench allowed the Cavaliers to play their normal all-out defense throughout the contest.

“We told our kids before the game that we’ve got to get back to playing defense,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “I don’t know if the last couple games we’ve actually played the way we wanted to play on the defensive end. … I thought we did a much better job of that today.”

Roncalli’s depth was definitely evident to Herreid-Selby Area coach Ryan Yackley.

“They’re an engine that just keeps going. I feel like it’s kind of like one kid after another,” Yackley said. “One kid is on the bench that just replaces a kid that’s just as fast, maybe just a little slower, and it’s like dang, there’s no off switch.”

The Wolverines got off to a hot start, bolting out to a 9-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game. However, Roncalli cut the deficit to four by the end of the period and then its pressure defense began to take a toll.

“At the beginning of the year, it was something we kind of struggled with. ‘Lars,’ he’s really big into defense, obviously, so that’s something we worked on a lot,” said Roncalli’s Elyana Roach. “I think it’s just all knowing what we’re supposed to do, going through that constantly at practice, and then just having each other’s backs, just always being there for one another.”

Roncalli’s defense, led by Gabby Thomas, held the Wolverines to six points in the second period as the Cavaliers opened an eight-point halftime lead.

“Towards the back end of the first half you could kind of feel that momentum building and press kind of wearing on people,” Larson said. “I thought Gabby did a great job getting in passing lanes.”

That press was effective all game as Roncalli consistently rotated fresh players in off the bench.

“Roncalli’s a great team. They’re a phenomenal team,” Herreid-Selby Area’s Katie Allbee. “They have really great pressure and they’re all in shape. They have a lot numbers that we don’t have.”

Allbee did everything she could to help the Wolverines stay within striking distance. She finished with a game-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers.

“Especially a game like tonight, they play pressure defense, we know that,” Allbee said. “I put my time in in the gym. I like to shoot. I like to work on my shooting. Sometimes you just feel open, so you just bust it.”

The Cavaliers went on a 14-2 run to start the second half to prevent any chance of an HSA comeback.

“After we weathered the storm early, I don’t think anyone lost their minds, and just kind of chipped away,” Larson said, “and then once we took the lead, it seems like we kind of got our momentum going there and we went on a big run.”

As a result, Roncalli improved to 5-1 to start the season. Meanwhile the Wolverines have played in half as many games.

“This was our third game of the year. Hopefully we get some mistakes out of the way so we can move forward. … This was their sixth and it shows,” Yackley said. “They were in the right spots, they played where they needed to, they shot the ball well.”

Claire Crawford led Roncalli with 18 points and Thomas contributed 12.

Roach had seven points off the bench. The sophomore talked about her role coming into a contest.

“Just starting out, it’s kind of nerve wrecking because you don’t want to go in and mess what they were doing good,” Roach said, “but then you can also bring in the aspect of what they didn’t have that you can see on the bench that they can’t see on the court.”

Roncalli plays at Webster on Monday.

The Wolverines plan to benefit from their first setback of the season.

“I love playing teams like this and our girls do, too.” Yackley said. “It makes you better.”

HERREID-SELBY AREA (2-1): Alyssa Kaup 1 2-2 4, Jessie Johnson 2 0-0 4, Jordyn Rossow 4 1-2 9, Katie Allbee 6 2-6 19. Totals 13-28 5-10 36.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (5-1): Gabby Thomas 5 2-2 12, Claire Crawford 7 0-0 18, Karsyn Davis 1 0-0 2, Rylee Voller 3 0-0 8, Jillian Ellwein 1 0-0 2, Kadince Glynn 0 2-4 2, Elyana Roach 3 1-2 7, Olivia Dix 3 0-0 6. Totals 23-51 5-10 57.

Herreid-Selby Area 13 19 28 36

Aberdeen Roncalli 9 27 45 57

3-point field goals – Allbee 5; Crawford 4, Voeller 2. Total fouls – Herreid-Selby Area 8; Aberdeen Roncalli 8. Rebounds – Herreid-Selby Area 17 (Rossow 4); Aberdeen Roncalli 27 (Thomas 4, Davis 4). Turnovers – Herreid-Selby Area 18; Aberdeen Roncalli 8.