The Becker Bulldog basketball teams faced off against the Chisago Lakes Wildcats for the second time in two weeks and each team came away with a victory.  

The girls traveled out of town Monday night and celebrated President’s Day with a win, while the boys hosted the Wildcats Tuesday night and used home court advantage to turn the tables on the Wildcats.

Girls 79-41

Coach Dan Baird was very pleased with his team’s Monday evening victory, as they played much better than the last time the two teams met.

“As a team, we shot 9-for-18 from the three-point line and 8-for-8 from the foul line,” said Baird.  “Shooting solves a lot of problems.  Everything was better because of it, as our defense was suffocating.”

Becker also out-rebounded the Wildcats, 26-21 and won the turnover battle (15 to 25).

Baird said Julia Bengtson played great in the game, scoring 16 points, nabbing four rebounds, seven assists and five steals.  She also had zero turnovers in the contest.

Megan Gamble had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with three steals.  Dani Nuest was on fire off the bench, scoring 16 points, connecting on 4-of-6 from the three-point line. 

“We have been turning the ball over after making steals, and just need to make the simple play instead of trying to make a miraculous one when the opponent is scrambling to get back on defense,” said Baird.  “But overall it was a nice team win.” 

Scoring: Adeline Kent 11, Maren Westin 7, Alayna Lindquist 2, Courtney Nuest 10, Bengtson 16, D Nuest 13, Gamble 12, Ayla Brown 8.

Boys 72-67

Tuesday night, the boys also played much better than the first time they faced Chisago Lakes.  According to coach Josh Ihrke, they picked up a win by being very aggressive on both ends of the floor, but also limiting the number of fouls they committed.

“We played our most complete game so far this season,” said Ihrke, noting how his team played hard against at the familiar opponent.  

“It was a great comeback from losing by 13 points at their place a week and a half ago,” 

Becker led 29-27 going into halftime and hit five three-pointers in the second half to help seal the win.  They also shot 20-for-26 from the free throw line, whereas the Wildcats were 10-for-12 from the line in the game.  The 10 point differential was attributed to his team’s aggressiveness in getting to the hoop but also moving their feet on the defensive end of the floor, according to Ihrke.  Twenty-four of Becker’s free throw attempts came in the second half.

Ihrke was also pleased with the balanced scoring attack, as five Bulldog players hit for double figures.

Scoring: Alex Weiss 5, Nick Berglund 13, Nick Knute 15, Hayden Harmoning 12, Eric Seavert 12, Brady Pausen 11, Landen Goebel 4.