Tuesday night, the Becker girls basketball team knocked off the St. Francis Saints, 58-53, to move into a tie for second place in the Mississippi 8 Conference.

“It was a huge win for us,” said Coach Dan Baird, immediately following the win.  “It moves us into a tie (with St. Francis) in the conference and puts us third in the Section.”

Becker eked out a six point lead, 28-22 at halftime, then made it last down the stretch.

Andie Changamire was aggressive in the first half, going to the free throw line eight times and making seven.

Josie Reckelberg was also on fire, scoring nine first half points en route to a team high 17 on the evening.

“Josie not only scored 17 points for us, but she held the Saints’ best player, Ameera Stancer, to just two points,” Baird said.

In the second half, Becker sank five three-pointers to maintain the lead and secure the win.

“Adele Changamire had a huge steal and layup to seal the victory for us,” Baird added.  “Josie hit a huge foul shot for us down the stretch.”

Adele Changamire added 11 points for Becker, while Andie Changamire finished the game with 14.  Lauren Croal had eight points and Eilidh Mrnak added six.

Wildcats

Last Thursday, Becker played one of its best defensive games of the year in dominating Chisago Lakes, 63-15.  

The Bulldogs held the Wildcats to just three made baskets in each half and led 48 to eight going into the intermission.

Becker was a step faster than its opponent all night, committing just seven fouls as a team.

Andie Changamire scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half, including three from beyond the three-point arc.  The Bulldogs shot well in the first half, nailing nine three-pointers, with Adele Changamire scoring 12 of her 16 points in the opening stanza.  She also led her team in rebounding on the night, grabbing seven, to go along with four steals.

Eilidh Mrnak joined the double figures scoring effort with 11 points in the game, while Josie Reckelberg added nine points for the Bulldogs.  Other scorers included Juliana Stach (five), Alyse Denne (two) and Tess Brown (two), as Coach Dan Baird saw 13 of his players attempt shots in the game.

The win pushed Becker to an 8-9 record overall, while they jumped to 7-2 in M8 play, good enough for third place heading into Tuesday night’s game at St. Francis.

Friday night they hosted North Branch, while Saturday night at 7 p.m. Becker hosted Fridley in the Breakdown’s Community Clash series.