Roncalli senior breaks school record

 The senior overcame early foul trouble to lift Aberdeen Roncalli to a key Northeast Conference win and etched her name into the record book in the process. Karst scored six fourth-quarter points to secure a 46-39 girls’ basketball win over Deuel at Roncalli Gym Thursday night and became the all-time leading scorer in school history.

 Her 12 total points pushed her career mark to 797 points, surpassing the old record of 790 held by Traci Stone.

 “I didn’t even know about it before the game,” Karst said of how close she was to the milestone accomplishment.

 Karst said the record means a lot.

 “I know Traci. I know that she was a really great player,” Karst said. “To beat that record is really just amazing. I never expected it.”

 For a while, it appeared Karst might not reach the mark against Deuel because she spent a good share of the first half watching from the sidelines.

 “It is frustrating when you foul right away and obviously when you’re sitting on the bench and you can’t do anything,” Karst said. “But when I get in there, I just do the best I can to help my team out.”

 Karst definitely saved her best for last, nailing a foul-line jumper and four key free throws in the final two minutes to help hold off a Deuel rally.

 “She finished the game how a senior and how a team captain should,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson, “made big free throws down the stretch, made a big shot for us at the free-throw line. This is how she’s kind of played her whole career here. We definitely relied on her in the fourth quarter.”

 Roncalli had a difficult time dealing with Deuel’s 6-foot-3 twin towers of Tiara Gibson and Erin Engelkes. The Cavaliers made up for their size disadvantage with outside shooting, nailing five three-pointers in a 23-8 second-quarter surge.

 “That second quarter really hurt us,” said Deuel coach Scott Mitchell. “That’s when they hit their threes and got hot. We just couldn’t come back from it.”

 The Cardinals almost came back from it thanks to Gibson and Engelkes. The duo combined for 33 points.

 However, the visitors left too many points on the floor, missing 10 foul shots in the contest.

 “When you don’t make free throws, for us because we have to pound it in and get to the line, when you don’t make free throws that hurts,” Mitchell said.

 Roncalli only forced 11 turnovers during the game, but the Cavaliers in-your-face defense the entire night eventually took a toll on the Cardinals.

 “We just flat out got tired,” Mitchell said. “We see some pressure D, but not like that. We just got wore out a little bit and that doesn’t help you a whole lot in the end.”

 Mitchell said his team seldom sees the type of defensive intensity that Roncalli brings to the floor.

 “We have some good guards that can really handle it,” Mitchell noted, “but when it’s constant pressure like they put on you, you just get wore down mentally and physically, both.”

 Gibson finished with 18 points and Engelkes 15 for Deuel.