FAULKTON – Aberdeen Roncalli held Faulkton to just four total field goals on the way to a 51-15 non-conference girls’ basketball victory Tuesday night.
Domination on both sides of the court was a key focus for the Cavaliers.
“Our last game we scored 37 points. We came out tonight, shot the ball well early. Got a lot of transition baskets early in the game,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “So again, our emphasis today going in was we just gotta finish better than we did previously against Sisseston at home last week.”
The Cavaliers got off to an early start as Gabby Thomas stole the ball on back-to-back possessions to help produce the first five points of the game.
“It was nice to come out and just get a lead early. I think we got up 5-0. Gabby had a steal and a layup. Claire (Crawford) had a 3, and then they called a timeout,” Larson said. “I think we got another steal to go up 7-0 or 7-2 early in the game and it just felt like we had big momentum.”
Thomas led Roncalli with 15 points on the night, Karsyn Davis followed with 11, and Crawford finished with nine. Six other Cavaliers also scored as Roncalli featured a balanced offensive attack.
“Karsyn finished really well. I don’t know how many misses she had. She didn’t have very many misses. She shot the ball well, stepped out, pulled the defense away and shot the ball pretty well from the outside,” Larson said. “It’s nice to see other kids scoring and I thought our bench did a good job coming in and giving us good minutes. Not only scores, but also coming in and not giving up scores on the defensive end.”
Roncalli finished with 16 steals in the contest. Thomas and Helms each had four, and Crawford added three.
Owning a 30-point halftime lead, the Cavaliers went away from their full-court press, but still kept the same mentality.
“Even though we’re not going to full court, we want to not just go through the motions, especially in the second half. Being up 30 at half, you could definitely potentially foresee that coming where people don’t mind trading baskets,” Larson said. “Or who cares if we give up a score, because we’re already up 30 points? I thought we did a good job coming out right away and kind of setting the tempo.”
Aberdeen Roncalli, 8-1 on the season, plays at Tiospa Zina next Tuesday.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI (8-1): Gabby Thomas 7 0-0 15, Morgan Helms 2 0-0 4, Claire Crawford 3 0-0 9, Karsyn Davis 5 1-2 11, Rylee Voeller 1 0-0 2, Kadince Glynn 2 0-0 4, Elyana Roach 1 0-0 2, Greta Peterson 1 0-0 2, Olivia Dix 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 1-4 51
FAULKTON (6-4): Presleigh Martinmaas 1 3-4 6, Austina Sorensen 1 0-2 2, Anika Mueller 1 0-0 2, Brooklyn Mueller 0 3-8 3, Raegan Geditz 1 0-0 2. Totals 4 6-14 15
Aberdeen Roncalli 23 40 47 51
Faulkton 6 10 11 15
3-point field goals – Thomas, Crawford 3; Martinmaas. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 13; Faulkton 6. Rebounds – Aberdeen Roncalli 28 (Thomas 5, Roach 5); Faulkton 25 (Sorensen 6). Turnovers – Aberdeen Roncalli 13; Faulkton 22. Assists – Aberdeen Roncalli 15 (Helms 5, Jillian Ellwein 4); Faulkton 1. Steals – Aberdeen Roncalli 16 (Thomas 4, Helms 4, Crawford 3); Faulkton 7 (B. Mueller 3, Cotton 2, Martinmaas 2).
