After beginning with a first-half struggle, Aberdeen Roncalli finished with a strong second half on Thursday.

The Cavaliers pulled away for a 43-21 win over cross-town rival Aberdeen Christian for a non-conference girls’ basketball victory at the Civic Arena.

Points were hard to come by in the first quarter as both squads found putting the ball in the net to be a difficult task.

Despite the win, Roncalli coach Derek Larson said his team’s offense struggled for much of the night.

“I felt like that was the whole night for us,” Larson said. “Man, we just couldn’t get anything to fall and didn’t shoot it well. It didn’t help that we turned it over (10) times. We did not play well offensively.”

Meanwhile, Knights coach Cristian Martinez said his team was also working as hard as possible to put points on the board.

“In the first half we tried to respond as much as we can, passing and moving the ball as much as possible,” Martinez said. “Their defense is pretty good. They recognized everything quick, so you have to give them credit for that.”

After the Cavaliers led 8-2 after the opening period, the second quarter proved to be similar.

Despite Roncalli outscoring Christian 11-8, the lack of points was still a problem for both teams.

“We could not make a shot or buy us a basket at all,” Roncalli junior Ava Hanson said. “Right from the start, shots weren’t falling, defensive wasn’t the greatest, and I don’t know man, we struggled.”

Christian senior Sophia Fogarty said sickness and injuries contributed to the lack of scoring in the first half.

“I think for us, we’ve kind of been dealing with sickness or injury personally, so it’s kind of hard to just get going,” Fogarty said. “But we just kept pushing.”

While the Knights kept pushing, Roncalli used a 17-7 third quarter to pull away, including an 11-0 run during that stretch. The Cavaliers converted several steals into transition baskets, while keeping the Christian offense at bay.

Hanson said while she was struggling personally to make baskets, she tried to get her teammates involved as much as she could.

“My mindset going in was how can I better my team right now,” Hanson said. “I know I got to make some shots, open lay-ups are going to come. If I have an open lay-up I got to take it, but open lay-ups, I didn’t make them, and then I got an easy pass to one of my teammates and I think I just kind of went on from there.”

The third-quarter run was enough for the Cavaliers to keep their lead safe, while Fogarty said the Knights began to feel fatigued late in the game.

“I think we got tired,” Fogarty said. “Just between sickness and stuff, it I think it’s kind of got us going a little slower, but we’ll definitely be picking it up next week.”

Fogarty led the Knights with eight points, while Chloe Bosma had six. Aberdeen Christian (2-15) will look to rebound on Monday when it hosts Hitchcock-Tulare. Martinez stressed staying focused on the final week of the regular season.

“Right now, we’re looking toward the last three games,” Martinez said. “We have to get ready for them. Overall, we have to continue working because the season is not over yet.”

Hanson and Gabby Thomas led the Cavaliers with 11 points apiece, while Camryn Bain chipped in six. Aberdeen Roncalli (14-3) will travel to Warner on Saturday to face the Monarchs in the Warner Classic. Larson said preparing for Warner will begin in practice.

“We have got to be better than what we are right now,” Larson said. “As we told our kids, that’s going to start with practice (Friday), and we better be ready to go, because I know Warner is going to be ready to go on Saturday.”

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (14-3): McKenna O’Keefe 2 0-0 4, Camryn Bain 3 0-0 6, Maddie Huber 2 0-0 5, Claire Crawford 2 0-0 4, Ava Hanson 5 1-2 11, Gabby Thomas 5 1-1 11, Morgan Helms 0 2-2 2. Totals 19 4-5 43.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (2-15): Jolie Fogarty 1 0-0 3, Sophia Fogarty 2 4-6 8, Chloe Bosma 3 0-2 6, Payton Skarin 2 0-0 4. Totals 8 4-8 21.

Aberdeen Roncalli 8 19 36 43

Aberdeen Christian 2 10 17 21

3-point field goals – Huber; J. Fogarty. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 10; Aberdeen Christian 8. Rebounds – Aberdeen Roncalli 35 (Hanson 10), Thomas 7); Aberdeen Christian 31 (Bosma 10, Chloe Holt 8). Turnovers – Aberdeen Roncalli 10; Aberdeen Christian 29. Assists – Aberdeen Roncalli 9 (Crawford 3); Aberdeen Christian 1 (Bosma). Blocked shots – Aberdeen Roncalli 1 (Ava Danielson); Aberdeen Christian 1 (Bosma).