With a convincing, 70-52 win over Cambridge-Isanti last Friday, the Becker girls basketball team remains at the top of the Mississippi 8 Conference with a 6-0 record, 9-4 overall. With the loss to the Bulldogs, the Bluejackets fell to 3-1 in the M8 and 9-3 overall.

“It was a good win on the road versus a team with a good chance to go to State themselves,” coach Dan Baird said of his team’s victory over the Bluejackets. “It was a nice defensive effort by the girls.”

The Bulldogs were able to take Bluejacket player Mikayla Aumer out of her normally dominant game, as they held the stellar senior to just 11 points, while her usual game average this season is 26.5.

“We did a nice job of shutting down Mikayla Aumer,” Baird said.

The Bluejackets came into the game averaging 68 points per game, but the Bulldogs put the defensive clamps on and came away with the win by holding their opponent to just 25% shooting from the field (16 of 64).

Meanwhile, Becker hit their shots at a much higher clip, shooting nearly 44% for the game on a 24 for 55 performance.

Rebounding, transition points and turnovers were nearly identical, meaning the Bulldogs’ superior shooting performance and defensive pressure turned out to be even bigger keys to the victory.

Offensively, Becker again showed great balance with four players in double figures.

“Ayla [Brown] and Addy [Kent] scored well for us,” Baird added.

Brown finished with 21 points for the Bulldogs to go along with five assists and four steals, while Kent scored 19 points, including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the arc.

Becker, ranked second in Class AAA in the latest state poll, was scheduled for a Friday evening matchup as the Bulldogs were to host the Princeton Tigers

Becker scoring: Dani Nuest 13 (four assists, eight rebounds), Maren Westin five (10 rebounds, five assists), Brown 21, Kent 19, Alexis Rose 12.