It was as difficult an opening week of competition as one could imagine for the Becker girls basketball team, as the Bulldogs faced some of the talent from both Minnesota and Wisconsin and came away with a 1-2 record.

“We are excited because these three games point to what we need to work on,” said Head Coach Dan Baird. “As a team, we are learning each other’s tendencies, as the group is new at playing together as a unit.”

Tigers

Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs opened the season in Princeton and blew away their Mississippi 8 Conference foe, 74-35. Becker raced to a 48-12 halftime lead and never looked back.

“Princeton struggled against us in the opener because of our speed,” Baird said. “We didn’t play well and still won by 38.”

Becker scored 37 points off 38 Princeton turnovers and also held an advantage with 23 steals, compared to the Tigers’ 10. Adeline Kent  led the offensive effort with 19 points, while teammate Dani Nuest chipped in 17 points and had an incredible 9 steals.

Other scoring for Becker: Maren Westin, 14 (four assists, three steals); Ayla Brown, six (four assists, five steals); Reese Hausmann, one; Alexis Rose, 14; Liz Mackedanz, two.

Trojans

Last Friday, Becker traveled to the metro area and took on Wayzata, a Class AAAA juggernaut, and Becker fell 80-52.

Becker had trouble in the first half, trailing 21-49 heading into the break, before playing an even second half where each team scored 30 points.

“Wayzata’s length gave us problems,” Baird said, alluding to the height advantage enjoyed by the Trojans.  

It was a clean game, with Becker being whistled for just six fouls in the game, while the Trojans notched just nine.

Becker was outscored 44-24 in the paint, while the Trojans had the advantage in transition points, 27-9.

Nuest was the scoring leader for Becker with 20 points, while Brown scored 15.  Westin had nine points for Becker, while Kent added eight.  

Patriots

Saturday night, the competition didn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs as they played against the Patriots from Appleton (WI) East high school and fell 73-61 to the top team from Wisconsin.

“Appleton East was a handful as well,” Baird said. “We battled them tough leading by four at half, but struggled in the second half with their 1-2-2 trapping half court zone.”

The Bulldogs took it to the big school in several areas, including enjoying a 16-7 advantage in transition points and a 15-10 advantage in second chance points, but the Patriots’ depth was just too much to overcome.

Nuest again had the hot hand, as the Michigan Tech recruit lit up the scoreboard for 19 points and five steals.  Westin, Kent and Brown each added 11 points for the Bulldogs, while Rose chipped in nine.  

Despite the losses, Baird felt that the two games against supreme competition were worth it.

“Both teams prepared us well for our future,” Baird said. “Dani Nuest is kind of leading the way, especially by rising to the occasion against top notch competition!”