LEOLA – Aberdeen Christian had offensive struggles at the worst possible time in a season-ending setback to Leola-Frederick Monday night.

The Knights managed just one point in the opening quarter and were never able to recover as the Titans claimed a 56-20 win to open Region 1B girls’ basketball action.

“It is kind of an offensive game in some ways in region basketball,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “You don’t want to start the game slow, because then the other team obviously gets a little bit of confidence. In region basketball especially, offense is so much more important than defense in the first quarter.”

Leola-Frederick jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the first eight minutes, but only extended the margin by four points in the second period.

“To not have a couple shots go was obviously frustrating,” Rohrbach said, “but I just want to give the girls props for not quitting and playing hard all night.”

A big factor in the game was Leola-Frederick’s defense. The Titans played man-to-man, something the Knights have not seen in recent games.

“The unfortunate part is we just got done playing a stretch where nobody played us man,” Rohrbach said. “We hadn’t seen man in the last three weeks and we saw man tonight. It’s difficult for girls who are learning the game of basketball to make that switch.”

The Titans were eventually able to pull away, producing 22 points in the third quarter to take command, including a pair of 3-pointers each from Eden Podoll and Arabella Clark.

“They shot really well in the third quarter,” Rohrbach said. “I thought we did a really good job defensively in the first half. They weren’t really getting any open looks. I think we just kind of wore down and got tired.”

The Knights played their third straight game without injured starter Jolie Fogarty. Rohrbach said that took a toll on the rest of the players.

“They know how good Jolie is and how much she brings to the team,” Rohrbach said. “I think it was really tough for them to go out there and not have her on the floor with them.”

Clark finished with 16 points, and Podoll followed with 15 for the Titans, who now play at top-seeded Waubay-Summit this evening.

Arianna Johnson and Sophia Eichler each had five points to pace Christian.

The Knights finished with three wins on the season after failing to win a game the past two seasons.

“We wanted to see the girls be leaders, be captains, some of them grow into that role,” Rohrbach said. “We wanted to see them become a family and kind of build relationships with each other. From that vantage point, I thought that was a success.”

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (3-17): Arianna Johnson 2 1-2 5, Molleigh Hofer 2 0-0 4, Sophia Eichler 2 0-6 5, Jacie Fogarty 1 0-0 3, Nora Fliehs 0 1-2 1, Lucy Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 8 2-10 20.

LEOLA-FREDERICK (8-13): Kalyce Achen 3 0-2 6, Kaitlyn Mueller 4 0-0 8, Karli Achen 1 1-2 4, Eden Podoll 5 1-4 15, Arabella Clark 5 4-5 16, Addison Wolbeck 1 0-0 2, Mya Zantow 2 1-2 5. Totals 21 7-15 56.

Aberdeen Christian 1 7 14 20

Leola-Frederick 10 20 42 56

3-point field goals – Eichler, Fogarty; Karli Achen, Podoll 4, Clark 2. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 11; Leola-Frederick 9. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 22 (Reagan Jett 7). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 14; Leola-Frederick 6. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 4 (Jacie Fogarty 3). Blocked shots – Aberdeen Christian 8 (Johnson 2, Eichler 2, Jett 2). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 4 (Jett 2).