CLEAR LAKE – Aberdeen Roncalli was tested Thursday night, but once again came up with all the right answers to conclude its regular season with a victory.

The Cavaliers shot 70 percent from the field to turn back Deuel and grab a hard-fought 54-43 Northeast Conference girls’ basketball win. It was Roncalli’s third quality win in the past six days as the squad now heads into the postseason. The Cardinals forced the Cavaliers to come up with solutions when it mattered most.

“They really shot it well. We watched a lot of their games on film and we hadn’t seen them shoot it that well,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “They had nine threes. They gave us a definite battle.”

Leading just 35-31 heading into the fourth-quarter, Roncalli executed to near perfection making 7 of 10 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers.

“Obviously, we wanted to play a little bit better on the defensive end, but it was also kind of nice to have another test before we get to the playoffs and be able to execute down the stretch,” Larson said. “I thought we played really well offensively in the second half.”

It appeared that Roncalli was on the verge of breaking the game open when the Cavaliers scored nine unanswered points (six on three-pointers by Camryn Bain and Claire Crawford) to go up 51-37. However, Deuel responded with back-to-back threes by Josie Andersen to quickly slice the lead down to eight.

McKenna O’Keefe then hit Roncalli’s ninth three-point field goal on the night to help cement the victory.

Roncalli was able to overcome a Deuel defense that face-guarded Ava Hanson and held the team’s leading scorer to just three points.

“Things didn’t definitely go our way every possession. They did a good job on the defensive end,” Larson said. “We haven’t seen kind of the junk that they threw at us tonight. Happy to kind of see that and happy to be a little more prepared for the postseason.”

Crawford led the Cavaliers with 15 points, Bain and Maddie Huber each had 12, and O’Keefe finished with nine.

Jaycee Hourigan topped Deuel with 11 points, and Andersen followed with 10.

“I think Deuel should be proud of their kids, how they played. They gave us a such battle,” Larson said. “They were definitely prepared. Give credit to Coach (Luke) Andersen and the Cardinals, because they came to play.”

Roncalli will take a 17-3 record into Region 1A action on Tuesday. While the pairings have not officially been announced, the Cavaliers will likely host Redfield in the first game of a doubleheader at Roncalli Gym.

“We need to clean some stuff up on the defensive end. Katie Rozell, probably one of the bestter players in the conference, we have to get ready for her next week,” Larson said. “Happy to have a home game, but we need to put all of our focus on Redfield right now.”

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (17-3): McKenna O’Keefe 2 3-4 9, Camryn Bain 5 0-0 12, Maddie Huber 4 2-2 12, Claire Crawford 6 0-0 15, Ava Hanson 1 1-2 3, Morgan Helms 1 0-0 2, Rylee Voeller 0 1-2 1. Totals 19-48 7-10 54.

DEUEL (6-14): Jaycee Hourigan 5 0-0 11, Kaitlyn Gubrud 1 2-4 5, Josie Andersen 3 1-2 10, Gradyn Nielsen 2 0-0 6, Camdyn Peterreins 2 0-0 6, Morgan Theisen 2 1-1 5. Totals 15-32 4-7 43.

Aberdeen Roncalli 13 22 35 54

Deuel 11 24 31 43

3-point field goals – O’Keefe (2), Bain (2), Huber (2), Crawford (3); Hourigan, Gubrud, Andersen (3), Nielsen (2), Peterreins (2). Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 8; Deuel 10. Rebounds – Aberdeen Roncalli 27 (Hanson 7); Deuel 24 (Hourigan 6, Gubrud 6). Turnovers – Aberdeen Roncalli 7; Deuel 15.