After a very tough non-conference season opening schedule resulted in four straight losses, the Becker girls basketball team opened M8 Conference play Monday evening with a 80-24 win over the Chisago Lakes Wildcats.

“We were really efficient and played really well,” said Coach Dan Baird.  “Juliana (Stach) getting nine rebounds was great to see and Josie (Reckelberg) hit some huge three’s.”

Becker raced to a 45-12 halftime lead and never looked back, racking up the impressive win.

Becker dominated the stat line, taking a 23-0 advantage in transition points and a 37-0 advantage in points off turnovers.  The Bulldogs had an incredible 50-4 advantage in points scored in the paint and committed just five turnovers as a team.

Adele Changamire was stellar offensively, scoring 24 points in just 26 minutes of playing time, while Reckelberg added 20 points.  Andie Changamire added 13 points and six rebounds for Becker, while Stach finished with seven points.  Other scorers included Lauren Croal, Aria Deidrick, and Ella Tchida with two points apiece and Eilidh Mrnak and Tess Brown each with five points.

Elk River

Last Friday, the Bulldogs hosted the Elks and fell by a score of 62-44.  Baird credited his team with a tough effort as his team played hard, but he lamented a lack of offensive rebounding in the loss.

It was two balanced halves of basketball, as Becker scored 22 in each stanza and the Elks scored 31 in each.

The Bulldogs managed just four offensive boards, and they also had no points in transition. The Bulldogs attempted 23 free throws, making just 12.

Adele Changamire had 17 points in the game, while sister Andie scored in double figures with 10.  Tess Brown added eight, while Mrnak (five), Deidrick (one), and Stach (three) rounded out the scoring.

Friday night the Bulldogs hosted the St. Francis Saints, while Tuesday they travel to North Branch for their last game until Dec. 27 when they travel to Sartell for a holiday invitational and a 6 p.m. game versus the Sabres.