TIMBER LAKE – Aberdeen Roncalli built an early double-digit lead, then withstood a strong Timber Lake rally to claim a 62-49 non-conference girls’ basketball win Friday night.

The Cavaliers came out firing on all cylinders on the way to a 23-point opening quarter. Six different players scored during the first eight minutes, led by Maddie Huber who made three three-pointers as Roncalli opened a 13-point lead.

“We came out and shot the ball well in the first half,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “I thought we defended really well in the first quarter.”

The Cavaliers found openings in the Timber Lake zone defense and made seven three-pointers on the night. They also exploited the Panthers’ man-to-man defense.

“We saw zone early, had some open looks against zone,” Larson said. “They went man. I thought we really executed our man sets better tonight than what we probably have all year. It was really nice to see that.”

The Cavaliers needed to execute well because Timber Lake refused to go quietly. The Panthers sliced into the Roncalli cushion, but were never able to get the margin down to within a couple of possessions.

“One of the things that was good for our kids was, we got up by 20 or whatever it was and then they made a run and cut it to 10 or 12, and then we were able to answer back,” Larson said. “That’s a big improvement from what we’ve seen and I’m happy for the kids that we were kind of able to withstand that pressure that they gave us and we were able to extend the lead again.”

Camryn Bain scored a career-high 18 points to lead a balanced Roncalli scoring attack. Ava Hanson contributed 14, Huber added nine, and McKenna O’Keefe and Rylee Voeller each finished with eight.

“We had a ton of people around that 10-point mark,” Larson said. “I think that was one of the biggest keys to the game was just us having balance and them not being able to key on one individual.”

Carlie Lawrence had 19 points and Shay Kraft 18 for the Panthers, which slipped to 11-2 on the season.

The Cavaliers improved to 7-5 on the year. Larson was pleased with how his team played in order to capture a road win against a quality opponent.

“To beat a team on the road, after driving for two and half hours and then coming out strong, especially early, I was really happy to see that,” Larson said.

Roncalli is back on the road Monday for a game against Mobridge-Pollock.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (7-5): McKenna O’Keefe 3 2-4 8, Camryn Bain 6 4-4 18, Maddie Huber 3 0-2 9, Claire Crawford 1 0-0 3, Ava Hanson 6 1-2 14, Morgan Helms 1 0-0 2, Rylee Voeller 4 0-0 8. Totals 24 7-12 62.

TIMBER LAKE (11-2): Carlie Lawrence 7 1-2 19, Shay Kraft 7 4-8 18, Kendyl Locken 0 2-4 2, Jasmine Nash 2 3-9 7, McKenzi Vomacka 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 10-23 49.

Aberdeen Roncalli 23 33 51 62

Timber Lake 10 19 36 49

3-point field goals – Bain 2, Huber 3, Crawford, Hanson; Lawrence 4, Vomacka. Fouled out – Huber. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 20; Timber Lake 15.