An adjustment on defense led to an improvement on offense as Aberdeen Roncalli stopped Clark-Willow Lake Thursday night at Roncalli Gym.

The top-rated Cavaliers pulled away after a tight first quarter and rolled to a 53-25 Northeast Conference girls’ basketball victory.

Roncalli coach Derek Larson said it was the defense that sparked the surge.

“Especially coming out of the half, I thought we definitely defended a lot smarter than we did in the first half,” Larson said. “In the first half we gave up a ton of dribble drives to their right hand and didn’t play very smart I don’t think defensively.”

The Cavaliers made a switch on how they handled screens and soon that led to a sharper effort on the offensive end of the floor.

“When we started going underneath screens, we looked a lot better defensively,” Larson said. “Once we kept getting a couple stops it seemed like we got a little more confidence in ourselves offensively, also.”

The Cavaliers put together a 19-5 third quarter to take total command in the contest.

The hosts not only contested shots, they did not allow the Cyclones multiple opportunities, either.

“I thought we defensive rebounded very well, especially the second half. I thought there were very few opportunities for offensive rebounds for them,” Larson said. “When we can get consecutive stops – two, three, four, five stops in a row – and end up pretty efficient offensively the second half, it just seemed like the confidence level boosted and people really wanted the ball in their hands.”

Roncalli featured a balanced attack led by Madelyn Bragg with 13 points. Morgan Fiedler followed with 11, and Olivia Hanson and Ella Hanson each added seven.

Larson also pointed out the effort’s of Jeci Ewart, saying, “I thought it was probably one of her best games of the year, guarding the girl she’s supposed to, getting defensive rebounds, getting to some hustle 50-50 plays.”

Alicia Vig topped the Cyclones with 11 points.

Roncalli, 13-1, meets Class A second-rated West Central on Saturday during the NEC-Dak XII Clash. It starts a string of six straight games against opponents with winning records to close out the regular-season.

“It will be a good test for us to face another really good basketball team,” Larson said. “It’s not going to get any easier after this one, but we really want to put our focus on this game and play the best we can down in Madison.”

CLARK-WILLOW LAKE (5-9): Musonda Kabwe 2 0-0 4, Magie Hovde 2 0-0 4, Kayla Jordan 0 4-4 4, Alicia Vig 5 0-0 11, Teyha Vig 1 0-0 2, Samantha Schuelke 0 0-2 0. Totals 10 4-6 25.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (13-1): Madelyn Bragg 6 0-0 13, Allie Morgan 3 0-0 6, Morgan Fiedler 4 3-4 11, Jeci Ewart 1 0-0 2, Olivia Hanson 2 2-4 7, Ella Hanson 3 1-1 7, Ava Hanson 1 0-2 2, Maddie Huber 2 0-0 5. Totals 22 6-11 53.

Clark-Willow Lake 10 16 21 25

Aberdeen Roncalli 12 25 44 53

3-point field goals – A. Vig; Bragg, O. Hanson, Huber. Total fouls – Clark-Willow Lake 8; Aberdeen Roncalli 12.