Ipswich got out in transition during a 23-point third quarter and ran past Aberdeen Christian Tuesday night at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

Ipswich was able to use its speed and athleticism to fuel a 50-19 Lake Region Conference girls’ basketball victory.

“We talked about if we could get ourselves some layups, kick the ball ahead a little bit. We had opportunities out there, and we just missed them in the first half. We were able to find them in the second half,” said Ipswich coach Brian Hogie. “We got ourselves some easy transition layups. … And then once we kind of found a little bit of rhythm, everything just goes so much better.”

The Knights have found themselves struggling in transition throughout the season, and it happened again in the final half against the Tigers.

“We’ve gotta just get down the court. That’s what hurt us literally every single game, where people can score 20 points on you just on a fast break,” said Christian coach Andre Cobbs. “You see how fast some of us are. It shouldn’t be like that, so we really gotta get back on defense.”

Gabby Wald had 10 points in the third quarter, and dished out numerous assists in transition as well.

“I think transitions really sped up the game for us. It got us hyped up as a team, and I think it got me even more hyped up getting my teammates points,” said Wald. “I was seeing it. That lane was wide open for me and I took it.”

Christian put up the first points of the game to get off to a quick start. Arianna Johnson made the first two shots of the contest.

“It was fun,” Johnson said. “It’s always nice to score, it feels good.”

Ipswich went on a 11-point run to end the quarter, before a switch in the Knights’ defense in the beginning of the second quarter held the Tigers scoreless for nearly four minutes.

“There’s a group of them that can play man well. But then once you play well for about three or four minutes, that group gets tired,” said Cobbs. “They can run that man very well. A couple of them can play really good shut down defense.”

Trailing by 10 points at the half, the Knights got away from their game plan in the second half as Ipswich took control.

“First half, we had a game plan and they executed that game plan. They did very well on it. We got away from it towards the end,” said Cobbs. “We can play a really good first half, come back to the second half, and I’m just not sure what it is, but we go back to what we’re used to doing.”

The Tigers, 9-8 on the season, used a variety of scorers to steadily pull away, with eight girls scoring in the second half.

“It’s what we’ve done all year long. We probably got about four or five girls right now that are right around that eight points a game range,” said Hogie. “Every given night, it’s a different girl going for us. So, it does make our life a little bit easier finding somebody else every night.”

Johnson ended up a team-leading seven rebounds for Christian in her first year of playing basketball.

“Man, she’s so good. She’s at about 50 percent of where she can be. I think she’s got the work ethic to get where she should be,” said Cobbs. “She can get up in the air, get that hand out and just bring one down. … It’s gonna be great when she turns that corner, and I see a time where she dominates a game.”

Jolie Fogarty topped Christian with six points.

While Wald led Ipswich with 22 points, she was more pleased getting her teammates involved.

“It’s not the points for me. I like getting assists more. I like pumping up my teammates getting them points,” Wald said. “But it felt good because I have been struggling with the scoring for like a few games and it felt good to get myself back.”

Christian, 0-16 on the season, takes on Lower Brule Saturday morning at the Warner Classic, while Ipswich meets Sunshine Bible on Friday.

IPSWICH (9-8): Brianna Geditz 4 0-0 9, Marley Guthmiller 1 0-2 2, Gabby Wald 10 1-2 22, Kaylin Onken 2 0-0 4, Tristan Geditz, 1 1-2 4, Jalyssa Hutson 2 0-0 4, Reaghan Bowers 1 0-0 3, Ally Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 2-6 50.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-16): Arianna Johnson 2 0-0 4, Sophia Eichler 1 1-4 3, Alicia Davis 2 0-0 4, Jolie Fogarty 3 0-0 6, Lucy Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 1-4 19.

Ipswich 14 21 44 50

Aberdeen Christian 5 11 13 19

3-point field goals- B. Geditz, Wald, T. Geditz, Bowers. Total Fouls- Ipswich 3; AC 8. Rebounds- Ipswich 42 (T. Geditz 5, Hutson 5); Aberdeen Christian 37 (Johnson 7). Turnovers – Ipswich 12; Aberdeen Christian 28. Assists – Ipswich 4 (T. Geditz 2), Aberdeen Christian 2 (Eichler, Fogarty). Blocked shots – Ipswich 1 Hutson). Steals – Ipswich 17 (Wald 9); Aberdeen Christian (Eri Cobbs 2).