Tuesday night, the Becker girls basketball team saw its 82 game Mississippi 8 Conference winning streak come to an end with a 59-58 loss to the St. Francis Saints.  

The Bulldogs’ conference winning streak had spanned parts of seven seasons, and it nearly stayed intact due to some incredible plays in the last minute of the game.

The Saints had the game seemingly in control with under two minutes to play and a 56-49 lead, but the Bulldogs and star Lexi Rose were undaunted by the deficit.

With under a minute left, Adele Changamire hit a deep three-pointer to trim the deficit to four, 52-56, and Bulldog Coach Dan Baird called a timeout.  Assistant Coach Dom Squires then spoke with the officials, resulting in two additional seconds being put back on the clock.

On the ensuing inbounds pass, Becker claimed a steal and a Rose layup trimmed the Saints’ lead to just 56-54.

After a Saints miss, Rose again went on the attack, just missing a driving three-point play as she was fouled.  She calmly hit both free throws and the game was tied at 56.

The Saints drew a foul on the other end and hit just the front end of the bonus for a one point lead, but Rose again took the ball to the hoop for a made basket and a 58-57 Becker lead with 10.3 seconds on the clock.

St. Francis was able to slip past a Bulldog defender for a layup and a 59-58 lead with 4.2 left and after a pair of timeouts, the Becker inbounds pass was intercepted to end the winning streak.

“St. Francis made their shots and we weren’t good at stopping their dribble penetration,” Baird said after the game.

Rose was a star in the second half, scoring 14 of her game high 24 points and hitting all five of her free throws. Adele Changamire chipped in 15 for the Bulldogs.

Becker scoring: Madi Bass five, Josie Reckelberg seven, Andie Changamire three, Avery Johnson two, Tess Brown two.

Wildcats

Last Thursday, Becker improved to 8-0 in the conference with a 61-23 win over Chisago Lakes.  Becker led 34-16 at halftime before putting on the defensive clamps in the second half to secure the victory.

Lexi Rose was the sharpshooter for Becker all night, as she was the lone Bulldog in double figures with 24 points to go along with six rebounds and three steals.

“Lexi was really good for us,” Coach Dan Baird said.  “Our second half defense was excellent.”

The Bulldogs dominated the Wildcats on the stat sheet, claiming a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers, a 16-7 lead in offensive rebounds and winning the turnover battle 23 to 10.

Nine Bulldogs played double digits in minutes in the game, while all 10 players scored points.

Becker scoring: Adele Changamire five (nine rebounds), Paige Hennen three, Lauren Croal two (five assists), Madi Bass four, Alexa Voller two, Josie Reckelberg three, Rose 24, Andie Changamire six, Avery Johnson four, Tess Brown eight.

Panthers

Saturday, the Bulldogs hosted the Spring Lake Park Panthers as part of the Breakdown Sports Community Clash event.  Becker was at a decided height disadvantage and couldn’t overcome the difference, falling 76-64.

“Spring Lake Park played great and we couldn’t overcome the size difference,” Baird said.  “They killed us on the boards, and we needed to hit more shots to have a shot here.”

Baird noted that Adele Changamire, just an eighth grader, played a solid game.

“She had a nice game versus Spring Lake Park, stuffing the stat sheet and shooting well,” Baird said.

Changamire finished the game with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Lexi Rose led the Bulldog scoring attack with 21 points and six assists.

Becker scoring: Croal five, Bass 14, Reckelberg five, Brown three.