With a blowout 71-42 win in the Section 5AAA semifinals, the Becker girls basketball team found itself matched up against conference foe Monticello in the Section Finals game Thursday evening in Buffalo.  Complete details on the Bulldogs’ quest for another state tournament berth will be carried in next week’s Patriot.

In last Saturday’s win over Princeton, Becker raced to an early lead and then emptied the bench in the second half.

“It was nice to get some of our young players some playoff experience in the second half when we jumped out to a 30 point lead,” Coach Dan Baird said. “Our underclassmen responded well!”

As has been the case recently, Becker senior Ayla Brown took control of the game, scoring 28 points and collecting six assists.

“Ayla shot 6-for-8 from the three point line and dished out six assists,” Baird said. “We did a nice job committing only eight turnovers and forcing 18 turnovers by Princeton.  The win moves our record to 24-3 on the season.”  

Becker built a 39-19 lead at halftime and again had three players in double figures, including Brown’s 28, Dani Nuest’s 16 and Maren Westin’s 15 points. Nuest also picked up seven rebounds, while Evelyn Kreft contributed six boards to the effort.

A total of 13 different Bulldog players saw action in the game.

Becker scoring: Nuest 16, Westin 15, Brown 28, Madi Bass 4, Lauren Croal 1, Liz Mackedanz 7.

Thursday night’s Section Finals were slated for 7 p.m. at Buffalo High School, with the state Class AAA tournament awaiting the Bulldogs if they defeated Monticello.

If Becker reaches state, it is likely they would draw the #1 seed and play a 10 a.m. game at Maturi Pavilion on March 15. The semifinals games are slated for Williams Arena on the 16th with the finals also on the raised floor at Williams starting at 6 p.m. on March 18.