Aberdeen Roncalli stole another girls’ basketball win Tuesday night.

The Cavaliers racked up 21 steals on the way to their sixth straight victory, a 52-23 non-conference win over Faulkton at Roncalli gym.

Roncalli allowed just nine points in the opening half to set the tone for the night.

“I thought we defended well, especially early in the game. They hit the three the first possession. I think we gave up six more points the rest of the way,” said Cavaliers coach Derek Larson. “So, 15 minutes, we only give up six points, so I thought we defended really well.”

That 3-pointer came from the leading scorer in the contest, Carley Cotton. She hit a three on the first possession of the game which helped ease the nerves of the Trojans.

“I think that helped us right away to give us some confidence and kind of settle in instead of going two, three, four, five minutes without a bucket,” said Trojans coach Chase Casper. “We kind of got that first one out of the way, right away, and everyone could kind of exhale and move on. But then we didn’t shoot for three more minutes after that.”

That’s because the Cavaliers recorded five straight steals and didn’t allow the Trojans to take the ball beyond half court.

“That’s what we do in our defense. We pride ourselves on defense,” said Roncalli junior Claire Crawford. “When we all work together in the full court trap, it really brings a lot of steals for us and helps us score on offense.”

Faulkton knew the experienced Cavaliers were going to come out strong, but was still caught by surprise by the aggressiveness of the Cavaliers.

“They’ve had the same starting five for the past five years. We didn’t need a scout and we knew they were going to be tough,” said Cotton. “I was not expecting it. I knew they were going to press us, and I just wasn’t expecting the half-court jump.”

Roncalli led 16-7 after the opening quarter. The Trojans managed just two points in the second period as the turnovers continued to mount up.

“We knew that taking care of the basketball would be a huge key for us if we wanted to hang around and have a chance. We needed a lot of things to go our way,” said Casper. “Taking care of the ball was priority number one, and we didn’t really do a good job of that in the first half. I think we had 20 turnovers and that cost ourselves too many opportunities to even get shots on the rim.”

Despite scoring 35 first-half points, the Cavaliers weren’t perfect on offense, according to Larson.

“We didn’t shoot particularly great. I thought we forced a couple of shots in the first half after we talked about not getting a one-pass shot,” Larson said. “I thought we had a couple of those where we didn’t need shots like that at the time. I thought we could have continued to be aggressive and get to the rim, and we didn’t do that on occasion.”

Roncalli lengthened its lead in the third quarter with 11 points coming from different players.

“We’ve played together for a long time, so we know each other pretty well,” said Crawford. “And when we attack and drive and are able to kick and play as a team, it really helps us score.”

Ava Hanson led Roncalli with 14 points and six steals.

Despite being down by 32 points going into the fourth quarter, the Trojans did not give up.

“Well, we’re always going to finish. Our kids aren’t gonna give up. Our effort’s always going to be there and tonight was not from a lack of effort and a lack of trying,” Casper said. “Roncalli is just on a different level than us right now.”

Cotton definitely didn’t quit, scoring seven of her points in the final quarter.

“Yeah, as a leader, I think we preach effort in our locker room,” Cotton said. “It doesn’t matter the score, gotta give a 110 percent every single night, 24/7.”

Despite the convincing victory, Larson said there are always things to work on.

“Still room for improvement. Defensively, we’re always pretty solid,” Larson said. “But again, always different areas to improve.”

Roncalli, 7-1 on the season, will be back in action against a 5-1 Elk Point Jefferson squad on Saturday from the Corn Palace in Mitchell during the Hanson Classic, while Faulkton will host Aberdeen Christian on Tuesday.

FAULKTON (5-4): Annika Mueller 1 2-3 4, Presleigh Martinmaas 2 0-0 4, Carley Cotton 5 2-2 15. Totals 8 4-5 23.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (7-1): McKenna O’Keefe 1 0-0 3, Maddie Huber 2 2-2 7, Claire Crawford 4 0-0 9, Rylee Voeller 1 0-0 2, Ava Hanson 6 0-0 14, Gabby Thomas 2 1-2 5, Morgan Helms 1 0-0 2, Karsyn Davis 2 0-0 4, Olivia Dix 3 0-0 6. Totals 22 3-4 52.

Faulkton 7 9 14 23

Aberdeen Roncalli 16 35 46 52

3-point field goal s- Cotton 3; O’Keefe, Huber, Crawford, Hanson 2. Total Fouls – Faulkton 7; Aberdeen Roncalli 10. Rebounds – Faulkton 16 (Martinmaas 7); Aberdeen Roncalli 19 (Huber 4). Turnovers – Faulkton 25; Aberdeen Roncalli 12. Assists – Faulkton 7 (Claire Cotton 2, Martinmaas 2, Carley Cotton 2); Aberdeen Roncalli 20 (Huber 7). Steals – Faulkton 7 (Martinmaas 2, Carley Cotton); Aberdeen Roncalli 21 (Hanson 6).