It was a battle of the titans last Thursday at the Breakdown’s Granite City Classic, as #1 ranked Becker (Class AAA) took on #2 ranked Providence Academy (Class AA) in a girls basketball matchup that saw the Bulldogs rally from an early deficit to claim the win, 73-64.  Becker overcame a 37-24 deficit to pick up the win over the Lions, a perennial power in the AA basketball class.

“This was a good win against the number two  ranked AA team and our girls showed a lot of grit making a huge comeback,” coach Dan Baird said.  “We completely turned around the game in the second half when we outscored them 42-25 after trailing by eight at the half.”

Ayla Brown had the hot hand against the Lions, as she poured in 22 points and had six steals and five assists.  Dani Nuest added 16 for Becker, as five Bulldogs scored in double figures.

“We out-rebounded Providence 37-27 and won the turnover battle 14 to 22,” Baird said.  “Ayla was four-for-six from the three point line and hit some huge shots for us. She has shot really well this year and was our leading scorer in both games of the Classic.”

Maren Westin led the team with eight rebounds, while also chipping in 12 points.

The Lions are athletic and have a very good team this year, with a pair of superstars leading the way.

“Maria Counts was very difficult as she scored 30 points for Providence,” Baird said. “Ayla and Adeline Kent did a nice job holding superstar Maddyn Greenway to only 12 pts, which is 11.5 points under her average of 23.5 points per game.”

But once again, the Bulldogs’ balanced scoring attack and smothering defense proved to be too much down the stretch as Becker forced the Lions into 22 turnovers.

As a team, Becker shot nine-for-22 from the three point line, while holding the Lions to a four-for-21 performance.

Becker scoring: Dani Nuest 16, Maren Westin 12 (eight rebounds), Ayla Brown 22 (five assists, six steals), Adeline Kent 11, Alexis Rose 12 (four steals).

Skippers

A day earlier, Becker started off the showcase by taking on Class AAAA Minnetonka in a game in which the Skippers’ size and length was too much for the Bulldogs to overcome en route to a 86-45 loss.

The Bulldogs had shooting woes all game, hitting just three of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

The Skippers also enjoyed a huge advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 42-25.

“Against Minnetonka, we shot 33 percent which isn’t even close to where we need to be against a 4A powerhouse,” Baird said.  “We never matched their quality of play.”  

Becker scoring: Nuest six, Westin three, Brown 12, Kent 11, Rose seven, Liz Mackedanz six (six rebounds).

Cardinals

Tuesday night, the girls hosted Willmar and fell victim to an aggressive effort by the Cardinals in a 74-64 loss.  The Bulldogs led by one at halftime, but Willmar came out attacking the hoop in the second half and ended the game with 31 free throw attempts to Becker’s five.  The Bulldogs were a step slow on defense, as they committed 22 fouls as a team and the Cardinals turned the advantage into 20 points from the charity stripe.

Becker scoring: Nuest 22, Westin nine, Kent five, Rose 26, Mackedanz two.

With the loss, Becker fell to 6-4 on the season overall and 3-0 in the M8 Conference.  The girls traveled to Chisago Lakes Thursday night to resume M8 Conference action.