Five outside shooters overcame one dominant force inside Saturday night at Roncalli Gym.

Aberdeen Roncalli received 3-pointers from all five starters to help offset the inside game of Adriana Ratigan in a 53-40 girls’ basketball win during the Cavalier Classic.

“We can all shoot it. That’s one thing on any given night it seems that anyone that steps on the floor can make jump shots,” said Roncalli Derek Larson. “I thought Karsyn Davis came in and did a great job defending Ratigan when she was in.”

Defending the 6-foot-2 Wildcats’ center is a daunting task. Whenever she was able to catch the ball, she scored on nearly every occasion on the way to a game-high 20 points.

“Sometimes it is a challenge, especially when they’re shorter, because they’re just right there,” Ratigan said of players consistently reaching and grabbing for the ball, “but I definitely this summer got a lot work playing with my AAU team, just practicing and getting banged on, and making sure when I do get the ball that I stay strong and go up strong.”

One of those players on her summer team happened to be Roncalli standout Ava Hanson, who knew the challenge of trying to stop Ratigan.

“Actually, I played with her all summer long. She’s good down low,” Hanson said. “When gets a lob pass, there’s no stopping her, unless you have backside help.”

Roncalli tried a bit of everything against Ratigan, including playing behind her and also fronting her.

“We were talking about playing from behind, but as the game went on, you just can’t get around her,” Hanson said. “She buries you and there’s no way around that.”

The plan was to make the entry passes as tough as possible, and while that often worked, Ratigan was still able to haul in a number of passes for high-percentage shots.

“She’s got really good hands,” Larson said. “She can really catch the basketball and she can finish.”

Ratigan also made 4 of 6 free throws, a point of emphasis for the senior.

“This year I’ve shot a lot better on my free throws I feel like,” Ratigan said. “I’ve really locked in on those and just made sure to use my legs and get them through, now matter how tired I am.”

Of course, turnovers are also a factor when playing Roncalli with its various forms of pressure defense. The Cavaliers forced 23 turnovers on the night, but that was still an improvement over previous games for the Wildcats.

“We’ve been having 30-35 turnovers a game,” said Northwestern coach Jason Sparling. “We’re improving as a basketball team and I’m very proud of these kids.”

While the loss was the first of the season for the Wildcats, the contest will pay dividends, according to Sparling.

“We’re so fortunate to be invited to this … because this game makes us a better basketball team long term,” Sparling said. “We’re really proud of our kids in handling the pressure they way they handled it. In the past, we haven’t handled it that well.”

Hanson finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Maddie Huber added 10 points, Claire Crawford followed with eight, and McKenna O’Keefe had seven.

“It was team effort for sure,” Hanson said. “We should have held them to lower points, but what do you do when they have a post that big?”

The Cavaliers, 2-1 on the season, are on the road for a game against Herreid-Selby Area on Saturday.

NORTHWESTERN (3-1): Ella Boekelheide 0 2-2 2, Tara Blachford 0 1-2 1, Josie Sparling 0 2-2 2, Ashley Haven 4 0-0 8, Adriana Ratigan 8 4-6 20, Bree Satter 2 0-0 4, Sophia Troske 1 0-0 3. Totals 15 9-12 40.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (2-1): McKenna O’Keefe 3 0-0 7, Maddie Huber 3 3-3 10, Claire Crawford 3 0-0 8, Rylee Voeller 2 0-0 5, Ava Hanson 7 2-4 18, Gabby Thomas 0 1-2 1, Morgan Helms 0 2-2 2, Karsyn Davis 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 8-11 53.

Northwestern 13 23 32 40

Aberdeen Roncalli 16 32 42 53

3-point field goals – Troske; O’Keefe, Huber, Crawford 2, Voeller, Hanson 2. Fouled out – Haven. Total fouls – Northwestern 12; Aberdeen Roncalli 17. Rebounds – Northwestern 22 (Ratigan 6); Aberdeen Roncalli 18 (Hanson 6). Turnovers – Northwestern 23; Aberdeen Roncalli 8. Assists – Northwestern 10 (Sparling 4); Aberdeen Roncalli 4. Blocked shots – Northwestern 2 (Ratigan 2); Aberdeen Roncalli 2. Steals – Northwestern 3; Aberdeen Roncalli 15 (Thomas 4, Crawford 3, Hanson 3).