Aberdeen Roncalli was pushed Tuesday night, but when push came to shove, the Cavaliers found a way to advance in postseason play at Roncalli Gym.

Roncalli had just enough answers to escape upset-minded Redfield 43-37 in the opening round of the Region 1A girls’ basketball tournament.

The game was a stark contrast from the season-opener for both squads when Roncalli held the Pheasants to just nine to points in a 33-point victory.

“Everything was different. A lot of our girls are younger and they’ve gotten a lot more experience and everyone left it out there tonight,” said Redfield senior Katie Rozell of the difference between the two contests. “We had all of our energy. We were going for everything. We left it all out there.”

Behind the lead of Rozell, the Pheasants went toe-to-toe with the Cavaliers throughout the contest and definitely got Roncalli’s attention.

“Rozell was hot in the first half. She didn’t hardly miss. It felt like it almost kind of got in our own mind,” said Roncalli coach Derek Larson. “We would make a shot, she’d answer back. We’d make a shot, she’d answer back. It seemed like every time we punched, she punched back, and I don’t think we were ready for that. I don’t think the kids were ready for the fight that they gave us. Give them credit because, wow, they played a really good game.”

Rozell blocked a shot on one end of the floor and nailed a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to pull the Pheasants to within 22-19 at the half. However, Rozell would manage just two more points the rest of the way.

“We mainly talked about fighting screens off of her, because she scored most of her 3-pointers off of ball screens,” said Roncalli’s Maddie Huber. “We just have to work on helping off your own girl to stop the one that’s making the points.”

However, with Rozell bottled up, Redfield stayed within striking distance, mainly because of its rebounding and defense. The Pheasants collected 13 offensive rebounds, five by Kinley Smith.

“We gave up too many offensive rebounds,” Larson said. “I thought we stood and watched. We stood right underneath the hoop and the only thing we’re going to get there is a made basket.”

Redfield coach Tommy Gregg said it was evident how much his team had improved from its first game of the year against the Cavaliers.

“We talked a lot about this game being full circle for us,” Gregg said.

In the end, however, it was Roncalli’s pressure defense that took a toll, forcing 23 turnovers to prevent the Pheasants from ever taking a lead down the stretch.

“It was a deal, when are they going to bring the run and jump?” Gregg said. “When are they going to come with it?”

While Roncalli only scored three total points in the final quarter, is was the team’s defense that carried it to victory.

“The coaches really preach to us about defense wins games and when you look at the score, we didn’t necessarily play the best,” Huber said, “but when you look at the grand scheme of things, we have two games left until we get to state, so we just have to keep playing defense.”

Rozell finished with game-high totals of 18 points and 10 rebounds in her last game with the Pheasants. Despite the setback, Rozell was pleased with how her team capped off the season.

“I’m just really happy with the career I had at Redfield,” Rozell said. “My teammates were great this year. A lot of people stepped into new roles and I think we had a great season.”

Smith added 10 points to the Redfield total. The Pheasants finished the season at 6-15 and Gregg was happy that his team saved one of its best efforts for the Cavaliers.

“I’m glad we pushed them,” Gregg said. “I’m just so pleased with our kids’ effort, our seniors going out the right way, so now we have a little momentum going into next year and hopefully try to build off of that.”

Huber topped Roncalli with 16 points, McKenna O’Keefe followed with 11, and Ava Hanson added nine.

The Cavaliers, 18-3 on the year, host Groton at 7 p.m. Thursday for the right to advance to the SoDak 16 next week.

“Half the teams are done. Half the teams after today are finished. We’re happy to be practicing (Wednesday),” Larson said. “That’s something we talked about in the locker room is that there’s only half the teams left and half the teams aren’t going to practice (Wednesday). We want to continue to practice and continue to get better.”

REDFIELD (6-15): Charli Jungwirth 0 0-4 0, Hayden Gall 2 1-1 5, Katie Rozell 7 0-0 18, Kinley Smith 5 0-0 10, Jadit Puok 2 0-0 4. Totals 16-43 1-5 37.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (18-3): McKenna O’Keefe 5 1-2 11, Camryn Bain 0 1-2 1, Maddie Huber 6 1-1 16, Claire Crawford 1 1-2 3, Ava Hanson 3 1-4 9, Abby Thomas 0 1-2 1, Morgan Helms 1 0-0 2. Totals 16-39 6-13 43.

Redfield 13 27 31 37

Aberdeen Roncalli 14 30 40 43

3-point field goals – Rozell (4); Huber (3), Hanson (2). Total fouls – Redfield 16; Aberdeen Roncalli 8. Rebounds – Redfield 35 (Rozell 10); Aberdeen Roncalli 20 (O’Keefe 6). Turnovers – Redfield 23; Aberdeen Roncalli 12.