A 35-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday.
Aberdeen Roncalli stunned No. 1 Summit 36-34 at Roncalli Gym in a high school girls' basketball contest. It was the Eagles' first loss since they were defeated by Sisseton on Dec. 27, 2011.
"It is a huge win," Aberdeen Roncalli coach Derek Larson said, "not only for our girls here, but our basketball program. I'm proud of our girls for the effort that they gave."
And it came against a powerhouse basketball program. In addition to the 35-game winning streak, Summit has played in the last four State B girls' basketball championships and has won three of them. The Eagles have won the last two State B titles.
"It is huge," Roncalli senior Mollee Karst said. "I don't think we have had a bigger regular-season game than that. It is huge. Incredible."
Karst finished with a game-high 17 points, including Roncalli's last six. The Cavaliers trailed 28-22 entering the fourth quarter. Karst then made a field goal 12 seconds into the fourth quarter to get Roncalli within four. Roncalli sophomore reserve Hailey Kline nailed back-to-back jump shots to tie up the score at 28-28 with six minutes left.
"She did the same thing against Deuel," Larson said about Kline. "She came up and had a huge game for us in the second quarter against Deuel. In the second half here, she came in and had a huge second half for us."
Another Roncalli reserve Paige Sommers then stole a Summit inbounds pass on the next possession. Sommers raced down the court and made a layup to put the Cavaliers up 30-28 with 5 minutes left. It was Roncalli's first lead since the first quarter.
"Paige is always a big aspect to our team," Karst said. "She helped us out a lot coming off the bench."
The Cavaliers went into stall mode after retaking the lead. Roncalli was clinging to a 30-29 lead with 2 minutes left. The Cavaliers took time off the clock before Karst broke down Summit's defense and scored on a contested layup with 1:20 left.
Logan O'Farrell made a pair of free throws to slice the lead to 32-31 with 44 seconds left. Karst put Roncalli back up by three, 34-31, with two free throws with 21 seconds left. Summit then missed a game-tying three-pointer with nine seconds left. Karst then made two more free throws with six seconds left to ice the game. Summit's Karissa Chamley made a three-pointer at the buzzer to reach the final margin.
"Hats off to Roncalli," Summit coach Mark Amdahl said. "They came in and dug in defensively and didn't give us things that we normally get. They matched up perfect with us. It was one of those games that was a defensive battle and every possession was crucial. They came out on top today."
Presley O'Farrell and Chamley paced the Eagles with nine points apiece. Logan O'Farrell, Summit's leading scorer, scored only four points before fouling out late in the game. Logan O'Farrell dropped in 25 points on the Cavaliers last season in a 45-33 win by the Eagles. Karst drew the defensive assignment of guarding the first team all-stater on Saturday.
"We kind of challenged her just by saying, 'You need to play a better defensive game than what we did last year,' " Larson said. "She stepped up huge."
The Eagles fell behind 6-0 to start the game and did not score a field goal until Presley's basket at the 3:18 mark of the first quarter. Her basket started a 9-0 run by the Eagles as they led 9-6 after the first quarter. Summit led 18-14 at halftime and stretched its lead to 28-22 going into the fourth before Roncalli made its rally.
The Eagles will now look to start another winning streak this week. Summit (16-1) will host Tiospa Zina on Thursday in an Eastern Coteau Conference contest.
"We realize now what we have to work on," Amdahl said. "I'm guessing we are going to have one heck of a practice come Monday."
Aberdeen Roncalli (11-3) will host rival Groton on Monday at 8 p.m. at the Roncalli Gym. The Cavaliers won the first meeting 51-37 in Groton. Monday's contest will be the non-conference game between the two Northeast Conference foes.
"We can't win a huge one here and then get beat on Monday to a good basketball team," Larson said. "They are a good basketball team and we still have to play a good game to win that one."
SUMMIT: Logan O'Farrell 1 2-2 4, Presley O'Farrell 2 4-8 9, Shenia Steinocker 2 0-0 6, Christine Pearson 2 0-0 4, Karissa Chamley 3 1-1 9, Nicolette Kneeland 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 7-11 34.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI: Tage Hanson 1 2-2 5, Taylor Hanson 0 3-4 3, Morgan Gunderson 0 1-2 1, Mollee Karst 6 4-4 17, Abby Dockter 0 0-1 0, Paige Sommers 3 0-1 6, Hailey Kline 2 0-0 4. Totals 12 10-14 36.
Summit (16-1)| 9 18 28 34
Aberdeen Roncalli (11-3)| 6 14 22 36
3-point field goals -- P. O'Farrell, Steinocker 2, Chamley 2, Tage Hanson, Karst. Fouled out -- L. O'Farrell. Total fouls -- Summit 14; Aberdeen Roncalli 13. Rebounds -- Summit 20 (P. O'Farrell 7); Aberdeen Roncalli 18 (Karst 7). Turnovers -- Summit 12; Aberdeen Roncalli 8. Officials -- Dale Tjarks, Michael Perrion. B Game -- Aberdeen Roncalli 29-22.