The Bulldog girls basketball team, seeded #5, cruised past #4-seeded St. Cloud Apollo on the road by a score of 69-63 in the first round of Section 5AAA playoffs.
The Bulldogs were led by Julia Bengtson, who tallied 20 points and led the team in scoring for the second game in a row. Alayna Lindquist (14) and Adeline Kent (11) also scored in double figures for Becker.
Apollo was led by Lariah Washington, who had 24 points.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a strong lead and held a seven point lead at halftime. The two teams played evenly in the final 18 minutes, but Becker’s lead was too much to overcome for the Eagles.
Becker (15-12) advances to play the top-seeded Willmar Cardinals (23-2) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday in Buffalo.
Becker scoring: Bengtson 20, Lindquist 14, Kent 11, Gamble 9, Courtney Nuest 6, Renee Tripp 4, Benda 3 and Madi Kerzman 2.
Apollo scoring: Washington 24, Chloe Swanson 17, Ashley Koepp 11, Jessica Timpane 6, Kayla Nguyen 2, Angie Stolt 2 and Lauren Freeman 1.
Becker 56, Foley 39
In Becker’s final regular season game of the year last Friday, the Bulldogs trounced the Foley Falcons by 17.
Becker used pressure to force 23 turnovers, while committing only 13 themselves. The victory meant Becker finished the 2017-18 regular season 14-12 overall and 9-5 in the Granite Ridge Conference. Zimmerman won the Conference with an 11-2 record, while Cathedral finished 2nd at 11-3.
Bengtson scored 15 points and dished out six assists to lead the Bulldogs. Freshman Megan Gamble had a nice game with nine points and nine rebounds.
Foley was led in scoring by Madison Peschl's seven points. Foley finished the regular season with a 10-16 record.
Becker scoring: Bengtson 1, Gamble 9, Nuest 7, Tripp 6, Lindquist 5, Kent 5, Kerzman 5, Kirsten Fitzgerald 2 and Benda 2.
Foley scoring: Madison Peschl 7, McKenna Gross 6, Cassy Teff 6, Kiley Paggen 6, Brittney Thell 6, Isabelle Legatt 4, Landrie Walz 2, Abby Mazacek 2 and Marissa Peschl 2.
