Warner survived Aberdeen Roncalli’s opening attack, but was unable to stand up against the final barrage Thursday night at Roncalli Gym.

The Cavaliers pulled away from a six-point lead heading into the final quarter to secure a 57-40 non-conference girls’ basketball win.

“We played well in the fourth. I think we kind of wore them down a bit,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “They turned it over. We got consecutive stops, we got consecutive scores, especially early in the quarter, but we’ve got to play smarter than that prior to that.”

It appeared that Roncalli was on the verge of pulling away multiple times on the evening, but Warner kept hanging around, despite committing 27 turnovers in the first three quarters.

“That’s what we kind of hit hard here after the game, because we had over 20 already in the first half and we were only down 12 at halftime and then we kept chipping away at it,” said Warner coach Tina Winter. “I think they’re starting to see the importance of valuing when we have the ball and getting shots up when we can get them up. We attacked the rim a lot better than we normally have, also, which did help us. That’s what kept us in the game.”

With the outcome still very much in doubt heading into the final eight minutes, Roncalli produced once final assault. The Cavaliers went on an 18-2 run to start the fourth quarter, pushing a 39-33 lead to a 57-35 advantage with 3:09 remaining.

Maddie Huber nailed a 3-pointer to ignite the Roncalli offense. She later added another basket and assisted on a Claire Crawford three-point field goal as the Cavaliers broke the game open for good.

“I kind of just take it upon myself, I have to be the one to step up,” Huber said. “You’re a senior, like you’re the oldest one out there. It’s kind of on you.”

While Roncalli got its offense going, its defense continued to wear on the Monrachs, who managed just one field goal in the final period.

“I think in the fourth quarter our shots started to fall so it was a little better,” Huber said, “but we’re not going to shoot the ball well all the time, so we have to figure out other ways to score.”

Roncalli’s pressure defense eventually proved to be too much for Warner, which finished with 34 total turnovers in the contest.

“We held them right away, but then we just started getting tired, and turning it over and not getting it up the floor as well as we wanted to,” said Warner’s Courtney Leidholt, “but if we could have done that, it would have been a different game.”

Stacia Carda led Warner with 11 points, while Leidholt followed with nine, and Jacyee Jung contributed eight.

The Monarchs would like to make a return trip to the State B tourney this season.

“We just want to fix all of our little things and get better as we keep going,” Leidholt said, “and our goal is to make it to state.”

Despite the loss, Winter saw many bright spots, including her team’s ability to stay withing striking distance until the end against a solid Class A squad in Roncalli.

“They’re a very good team. I’m proud of how the girls came out and played,” Winter said. “The positives that we did have were very good positives, so that’s something we can build on going forward here.”

Huber finished with 16 points to pace a balanced attack for the Cavaliers. Ava Hanson contributed 11, Crawford had nine, and Rylee Voeller and Gabby Thomas each added eight.

Roncalli improved to 4-1 on the season with the win. The Cavaliers will host Webster on Saturday afternoon with tip-off set for 1:30 p.m. at Roncalli Gym.

The Bearcats feature two 6-footers and two other girls at 5-foot-10.

“They are so long. … We’ll have to make sure that we’re physically prepared for them,” Larson said, “because again they’re a lot bigger than we are.”

WARNER (3-3): Courtney Leidholt 3 2-2 9, Jaycee Jung 1 5-6 8, MaKenna Leidholt 1 2-2 4, Stacia Carda 4 3-4 11, Tatum Hansen 0 2-4 2, Kaydee Mackner 2 1-2 6. Totals 11-31 25-20 40.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (4-1): McKenna O’Keefe 1 0-0 2, Maddie Huber 5 5-8 16, Claire Crawford 4 0-0 9, Rylee Voeller 3 0-0 8, Ava Hanson 4 2-2 11, Gabby Thomas 4 0-1 8, Morgan Helms 0 3-4 3. Totals 21-61 10-15 57.

Warner 9 20 33 40

Aberdeen Roncalli 14 32 39 57

3-point field goals – C. Leidholt, Jung, Mackner; Huber, Crawford, Voeller 2, Hanson. Fouled out – Mackner. Totals fouls – Warner 16; Aberdeen Roncalli 19. Rebounds – Warner 40 (Carda 10); Aberdeen Roncalli 30 (Hanson 8, Thomas 8). Turnovers – Warner 34; Aberdeen Roncalli 9.