Aberdeen Christian got back to work after a long holiday break and picked up right where it left off when it hosted Britton-Hecla Monday night.

The fourth-rated Knights improved to 5-0 on the season with a 49-30 non-conference girls’ basketball victory at the Christian School Gym.

Christian pulled away from a 17-12 halftime edge with improved passing to key a strong start to the third quarter en route to the win.

“We were a second late on a lot of our passes in the first half which caused some turnovers. We were seeing them, which is good, but we were late,” said Knights coach Michael Rohrbach. “I just told the girls we need to make those passes just a second quicker. After we did that, it got us to move the ball faster.”

The Knights went on a 15-2 run in the third quarter thanks to better passing and transition baskets. Christian outscored the Braves 18-7 in the pivotal third period.

“Once we fixed the passing, we were able to get those backside looks since we started moving the ball faster and started getting easier baskets,” Rohrbach said. “Our full-court press was able to get them to speed up a little bit and get us some transition buckets. When we get out and run we can be pretty tough.”

Hanna Miller was a critical part of the Knights’ resurgence with nine points in the third quarter. The senior finished the game with 13. Her sister Mallory Miller was also a force, leading the squad with 17 points on the night, in addition to blocking five shots.

Goiuri Sarria led the Braves with nine points. Chloe Furman and Jayden Bender each finished with six .  

“Our conditioning caught up to us in that third quarter and caused that lead to keep growing,” said Britton-Hecla coach MJ Hrabik. “Coming off some sicknesses and the long Christmas break, the girls are a little gassed. I was proud of our girls and they executed the game plan well tonight, especially defensively, but just that third quarter got us.”

Christian continues its busy week hosting Iroquois-Doland this evening at the Christian School Gym before playing at Oakes, N.D. on Thursday.

Britton-Hecla plays host to Webster on Thursday.

BRITTON-HECLA: Goiuri Sarria 4 0-0 9, Sterling Brassfield 1 0-0 2, Chloe Furman 3 0-0 6, Jenna Werner 1 3-4 5, Jayden Bender 2 0-0 6. Totals 12 3-4 30.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN: Joy Rohrbach 2 0-0 4, Kaylee Block 2 0-0 6, Hanna Miller 5 2-4 13, Mallory Miller 8 1-4 17, Grace Kaiser 2 1-1 5, Chloe Bosma 1 2-4 4. Totals 20 6-13 49.

Britton-Hecla 5 12 19 30

Aberdeen Christian 9 17 35 49

3-point field goals – Sarria, Bender 2; Block 2, H. Miller. Total Fouls – Britton-Hecla 11; Aberdeen Christian 7.