Redfield found its path to the basket blocked before finding the key to opening the route Saturday afternoon at Roncalli Gym.

The Pheasants began hitting shots from the perimeter to open up the middle and help fuel a 49-18 non-conference girls’ basketball win over Aberdeen Christian during the Cavalier Classic.

Leading 9-7 early in the second quarter, Ellie Evans hit a three-point field goal which began to unravel the Christian defense. Moments later she added another outside shot and soon the Pheasants were off and running.

“We talked about getting to the rim early, but they really packed it in, so it was hitting some jumpers,” said Redfield coach Tommy Gregg. “She got that going and then it just softens it up.”

Evans, who scored 10 first-half points, said that long-range shooting isn’t really her thing.

“I’m more a drive-first type of girl, so it was kind of different shooting, but I worked on it over the summer so I felt a little more confident in my shooting,” Evans said. “When it’s really packed inside, it’s hard to drive. I guess I just had to look to shoot at the three.”

Once the Pheasants rolling, the Knights had no answer.

Redfield outscored Christian 16-4 in the second period and then dominated the second half on the way to the victory.

For the Knights, it was nearly identical to their last game where they had a solid start and then struggled the remainder of the contest.

“We tried to do everything,” said Knights coach Cristian Martinez of his team’s defense against the Pheasants. “Those (outside) shots are going to hurt, but we were still in the game. But again, the second half, it was bad.”

Another key in the contest was rebounding, specifically Redfield’s ability to collect offensive rebounds.

The Pheasants finished with 19 offensive boards in the contest, led by Chloe Zens who had six of them.

“She’s just an athlete,” Gregg said. “The kid can jump.”

Zens scored six points on just five total shot attempts.

“We’d like her to maybe look to put it back right away, but she’s pretty unselfish,” Gregg said. “She was looking to kick it out.”

That unselfishness was a theme for the Pheasants, who made the extra pass for high-percentage shots throughout the game.

“A lot of our sets in our offense, we either want 2 to guard 1,” Gregg said, “or make that second, extra third pass after two good ones, to turn down a good (shot) to get a really good one.”

The Pheasants noticed some openings when shots went up, which led to their rebound total.

“We saw that it was really open off the shot,” Evans said, “no one really went to go get the rebound.”

Evans ended up with 16 points, Katie Rozell 10 and Ashlyn Clausen nine for Redfield, which evened its record at 1-1 on the season.

While the Knights had some good looks during the game, they continue to have a tough time finding offensive production with an inexperience lineup.

“It’s still a process,” Martinez said. “It’s all new stuff for them.”

Chloe Bosma topped Christian with eight points.

The Knights have back-to-back games to start the week, playing at Britton-Hecla on Monday and hosting Mobridge-Pollock on Tuesday.

“We’re going to keep working hard, stay positive this season, and try to learn the best we can,” Martinez said.”

REDFIELD (1-1): Ashlyn Clausen 3 3-4 9, Ellie Evans 6 3-4 16, Chloe Zens 2 0-2 4, Katie Rozell 5 0-0 10, Teryn Jandel 2 0-2 5, Camryn Rohlfs 2 0-0 5. Totals 20-53 6-12 49.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-3): Bailey Englund 2 0-0 4, Chloe Holt 1 3-4 5, Sophia Eichler 0 1-4 1, Chloe Bosma 4 0-4 8. Totals 7-27 4-12 18.

Redfield 9 25 38 49

Aberdeen Christian 7 11 13 18

3-point field goals – Evans, Jandel, Rohlfs. Total fouls – Redfield 9; Aberdeen Christian 9. Rebounds – Redfield 40 (Zens 9); Aberdeen Christian 26 (Fogarty 8). Turnovers – Redfield 5; Aberdeen Christian 23.