Defense is always a staple for the Aberdeen Roncalli girls’ basketball team, and on Saturday afternoon the Cavaliers added some potent offense to that as well.

Roncalli connected on a trio of three-point field goals in a 19-2 first-quarter blitz on the way to a 61-27 Northeast Conference win over Britton-Hecla during the Cavalier Classic at Roncalli Gym.

“We came out and really shot the ball well,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “I think that really helped us on the defensive end, knowing that we were coming down and getting scores, and were rewarding ourselves by kind of playing stingy defense, also.”

It was freshman Claire Crawford who set the tone by making three perimeter shots on the way to scoring seven of her team’s first nine points.

“I was just trying to help the team,” Crawford said. “Focus on one at a time and keep going.”

Crawford is one of many Cavaliers who are seeing their first major varsity minutes this season. However, that group has grown accustomed to playing with each other.

Crawford said that gives her confidence to shoot the ball.

“Especially, playing with people that you’re comfortable with,” she said. “You know that they have confidence in you, so it gives you confidence to shoot again.”

An accomplished golfer, Crawford said shooting is a lot like putting.

“Even if you miss one, you just have to have confidence that you’re going to make the next one,” Crawford said.

Roncalli’s hot shooting combined with its usual suffocating defense allowed the Cavaliers to score the first 19 points of the contest. The lead never dipped below 15 points the rest of the way.

Roncalli ended up making five three-pointers total during the contest, outscoring the Braves by 15 points from beyond the arc.

“They’re used to shooting threes. You noticed we didn’t shoot any,” said Britton-Hecla coach Terry Nelson. “We’re trying to learn what a 10-foot, 8-foot shot is, and post up underneath.”

Ava Hanson topped Roncalli with 16 points, Crawford followed with 13 and McKenna O’Keefe added 10.

“I thought we shared the ball really well,” Larson said. “In transition we shared the ball well, in the halfcourt we shared the ball well. I’m happy with our effort on the offensive end.”

Of course, for the Cavaliers it always starts on the defensive end and that was Larson’s message to the players in the locker room as well.

“Shots aren’t going to fall every night. Defensive consistency is something you can control,” Larson said. “I thought we did a really good job.”

Alyssa James led the Braves with six points and a dozen rebounds.

“We fell off a step and now we have to take a step again,” Nelson said.

The veteran coach said the plan is to improve throughout the course of the season.

“We’re young,” Nelson said. “Our goal is to get better by the end of the year.”

Roncalli, 2-0 on the season, travels to Groton on Tuesday night for another NEC contest. While the Tigers have lost their first two games, Larson said that is deceiving.

“I know they’re 0-2, but they’ve played two really good teams,” Larson said. “They lost to Sisseton and lost to Hamlin, two state tournament teams, probably.”

BRITTON-HECLA (1-1): Sterling Brassfield 2 1-4 5, Alyssa James 3 0-0 6, Jayden Bender 2 0-1 4, Tyanna Schott 1 0-0 2, RaeAnn Hagenson 1 2-2 4, Lauryn Wegener 1 2-3 4, Anne Jensen 1 0-0 2. Totals 11-50 5-10 27.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (2-0): McKenna O’Keefe 5 0-0 10, Camryn Bain 2 1-2 5, Maddie Huber 2 0-0 4, Claire Crawford 6 0-0 13, Ava Hanson 6 0-0 15, Morgan Helms 2 0-0 4, Ava Danielson 1 0-0 2, Sophia Feickert 0 1-2 1, Rylee Voeller 2 2-2 7. Totals 26-55 4-6 61.

Britton-Hecla 2 11 21 27

Aberdeen Roncalli 19 34 56 61 3-point field goals – Crawford, Hanson 3, Voeller. Total fouls – Britton-Hecla 6; Aberdeen Roncalli 13. Rebounds – Britton-Hecla 35 (James 12); Aberdeen Roncalli 28 (Bain 7). Turnovers – Britton-Hecla 25; Aberdeen Roncalli 10.