Aberdeen Roncalli may have a few new faces in the lineup this fall, but the Cavaliers continue to use a proven formula for success.

Roncalli took control early, pressured Redfield into 23 turnovers, and came away with a 57-24 Northeast Conference girls’ basketball win in the team’s home opener at Roncalli Gym Thursday night.

“We win on the defensive side,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “That’s how we stress every single day in practice. We want to continue to do that, get out in the passing lanes, and create some offense from our defense.”

The Cavaliers bolted out to a 16-point first-quarter lead thanks to 13 unanswered points, many coming in transition off of steals.

Redfield coach Tommy Gregg knew what was coming against the Cavaliers.

“We want to come in here and handle their pressure,” Gregg said. “The big thing coming in here is just not trying to pour gas on the fire when you play a group that can handle the ball.”

When the Cavaliers weren’t scoring off their defense, they were able to connect from both the perimeter and interior against the Pheasants.

Senior forward Rylee Voeller led the way for Roncalli, finishing with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Voeller explained her team’s efficient offense.

“Being able to make back door cuts and clear out the post,” Voeller said. “Then getting passes to where the corners were open.”

Roncalli was also able to get inside the Redfield defense for high-percentage looks.

“We had some really good post looks today, which really comes in clutch for us when we have two bigger girls on the bottom,” Voeller said. “We finally have some posts, which we haven’t had in past years.”

Meanwhile, Redfield had a difficult time gaining traction on offense, managing double digits in points in just one quarter. The Pheasants were led by junior guard Charli Jungwirth, who scored 11 points.

“I think in the first half we pushed ourselves,” Jungwirth said, “and we honestly did better than we have the past couple years.”

Jungwirth noted that it was her team’s first game of the season, so there are still things to be worked on.

“It’s our first game. We had some challenges on defense,” Jungwirth said. “We just need to stick together as a team more.”

While the Pheasants were down by more than 20 points, they never stopped battling. Redfield outscored Roncalli 10-8 in the third period.

The visitors took better care of the ball, and forced the Cavaliers into six miscues in the quarter.

“The second half, stared down too many passes, especially into the high post,” Larson said. “Didn’t ball fake and had too many turnovers, especially in the third quarter, which gave them a little bit of comeback.”

Redfield will travel to Faulkton for its next contest on Monday. Gregg is optimistic about the rest of the season.

“I thought we got up and down in transition, so we’ll keep growing. It’s 1 of 20,” Gregg said. “We’ve got a lot of winnable ones, if we can keep getting better and better, better days are ahead for the Pheasants.”

Roncalli will host Mobridge-Pollock on Tuesday, a team that competed in the State A Tournament last season.

“Mobridge, I think they’re a top eight team in the state preseason. We’ll have to again just be fundamental, limit turnovers, can’t have six turnovers in the third quarter like we did tonight,” Larson said. “They’re going to be physical, they’re going to be athletic. They’ve got two D-II guards, they’re good players. … We’ll have to come ready to go.”

REDFIELD (0-1): Brynn Giblin 4 0-0 8, Charli Jungwirth 5 0-0 11, Layla Hardie 1 0-1 2, Kinley Smith 1 1-4 3. Totals 11 1-7 24.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (2-0): Gabby Thomas 1 0-1 2, Morgan Helms 2 0-0 5, Claire Crawford 3 0-0 6, Karsyn Davis 2 3-4 7, Rylee Voeller 7 0-0 18, Jillian Ellwein 3 0-0 7, Kadince Glynn 2 0-0 4, Alyana Roach 1 0-0 2, Olivia Dix 3 0-0 6. Totals 24 3-5 57.

Redfield 5 12 22 24

Aberdeen Roncalli 21 38 46 57

3-point field goals – Jungwirth; Helms, Voeller 4, Ellwein. Total fouls – Redfield 4; Aberdeen Roncalli 10. Rebounds – Redfield 22 (Jungwirth 6, Smith 5); Aberdeen Roncalli 26 (Voeller 6, Thomas 5, Davis 5). Turnovers – Redfield 23; Aberdeen Roncalli 12.