FREDERICK - Aberdeen Roncalli backed up its latest elite rating with another stellar performance Tuesday night.
After being rated second in the latest Class A girls' basketball poll, the Cavaliers came out clicking on all cylinders and recorded a 61-12 non-conference win over Leola-Frederick.
Roncalli bolted out to a 15-0 lead and was never in trouble in the contest. Once again, the Cavaliers' defense was a force to be reckoned with, creating 38 turnovers in the game.
"I thought we did a good job early of our full-court stuff," said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. "Our full-court run and jump really worked well for us."
The Cavaliers were able to use their speed and quickness on both ends of the floor to improve to 4-0 on the season.
"We're so much better when we play in the full court, offensively and defensively," Larson said. "I thought we did a good job of creating things off of turnovers, even in the half-court set."
The game was nearly a carbon copy of Roncalli's first four games where they hound teams into numerous turnovers which in turn lead to numerous transition baskets.
"Our first four games have kind of been similar," Larson noted. "We really get it going with our defense early in the game and kind of thrive on that as the game wears on."
Mollee Karst topped Roncalli with 18 points and Morgan Gunderson followed with 11.
Larson praised the play of his bench, most of which are juniors.
"I give a ton of credit to our juniors," Larson said. "They stepped up and played so much better than they have in the past."
The Cavaliers have one more game before taking a break for Christmas. Roncalli hosts Britton-Hecla at 8 p.m. Friday at Roncalli Gym in a Northeast Conference contest.
"We're always happy for the win, but we need to get back to practice tomorrow and have a good one," Larson said. "We have to make sure that we're ready for that one on Friday night."
l=10f=Helvetica s=6 l=6.5 ABERDEEN RONCALLI: Tage Hanson 2 3-4 7, Taylor Hanson 1 0-2 3, Kate Heintzman 1 0-0 2, Morgan Gunderson 4 2-2 11, Emily Bohle 3 0-0 6, Mollee Karst 8 2-2 18, Hailey Kline 1 0-0 2, Abby Dockter 1 3-6 5, Mikayla Malsam 2 1-1 5, Taylor Morgan 1 0-0 2. Totals 24-60 11-17 61.
LEOLA-FREDERICK: Hallie Wimer 1 0-1 2, Savana Hinz 1 0-0 2, MacKenzie Heilman 0 2-6 2, Megan Walworth 1 2-2 4, Mariah Mikkonen 1 0-0 2. Totals 4-25 4-9 12.
Aberdeen Roncalli (4-0)|25395061
Leola-Frederick (1-3)|46812
3-point field goals - Gunderson, Taylor Hanson. Total fouls - Aberdeen Roncalli 13; Leola-Frederick 11. Rebounds - Aberdeen Roncalli 35; Leola-Frederick 14. Turnovers - Aberdeen Roncalli 23; Leola-Frederick 38. B Game - Aberdeen Roncalli 35-27.