The Becker girls basketball team’s most recent run to the state championship fell just one game short, as the Bulldogs fell last Saturday in the Class AAA title game, 60-51, to the Totino-Grace Eagles.

“We had a tough time with Totino-Grace’s 2-3 matchup zone,” Bulldog Coach Dan Baird said.  “They were long, controlled the pace, and contested shots well forcing us to shoot 6-for-26 from the three point line (23%), where we normally shoot 40%.”

Baird’s team battled the entire game, and trailed just 28-24 at halftime, but the scoring touch that has led to so many incredible accomplishments throughout the season couldn’t be found by the Bulldog shooters.

“Their game plan slowed us down and made shooting tough,” Baird added. “They also out rebounded us 33 to 26.”

The Eagles’ Hannah Herzig was a difference maker for her team, as she had 31 points in the contest.

Becker’s Adeline Kent, the team’s lone Senior, answered the call for the Bulldogs. In the end, the shooting woes were just too much to overcome.

“Addy Kent played great for us with 18 points, six rebounds, and four steals... she played great in the three games at the State Tournament,” Baird said.  “She played like a Senior that didn’t want to lose!  Her grit made for some great tournament moments.  As a team, we ran out of gas.  Totino was a big part of that.”

Becker did have chances in the second half, but wasn’t able to get over the hump to take the lead.  The Bulldogs pulled to within 44-41 with about 10 minutes remaining, but Totino answered with a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach.

“They (Totino) deserve all the credit and played like a championship team,” Baird added.

With the loss, Becker finished their incredible season with a 25-5 overall record.

Becker scoring: Dani Nuest, five; Maren Westin, 10 (four assist, six rebounds); Ayla Brown, seven (six assists); Kent, 18 (six rebounds, four steals); Lexi Rose, nine; Liz Mackedanz, two.

Quarterfinals

Becker opened the state tournament with a hard fought, 53-48 win over Austin in the opening round.

Becker used a 12-0 run at the end of the game to seal the victory, after the Bulldogs held a 22-20 halftime lead.

Shooting woes for the Bulldogs were reflected in their percentages, as Becker hit just 32% of their shots in the first half, while in the second half they hit 52%, including a 56% performance from beyond the 3 point line.

Austin used a 10-0 run early in the game to take a seven point lead just 4:11 into the first half, before Becker strung together their own run, 13-0, to lead by six points with 5:45 left in the opening stanza.  

Maren Westin was hot early for the Bulldogs, scoring 11 first half points, while Dani Nuest had six rebounds and Adeline Kent had four steals to help keep Becker in the game despite their shooting difficulties.

The second half saw three tied scores and six lead changes, as the Bulldogs held on for the victory.

Becker scoring: Nuest, eight (four assists, eight rebounds); Westin, 15; Ayla Brown, seven (seven rebounds); Kent, 13 (four steals); Alexis Rose, eight; Liz Mackedanz, two.

Semifinals

Becker built a huge advantage in their Thursday semifinal game against Mankato East and then hung on down the stretch for a 67-63 win that propelled the Bulldogs into yet another state title game.

It was a clash of styles right from the opening tipoff, as Becker used its full court pressure and up-temp style and Mankato East countered with their inside, post-up game. For the game, Mankato held a 38-18 advantage in points scored in the paint.  

“This was a tough, hard fought game especially after the drama of the Austin game,” Coach Baird said. “We came back from seven down to score the final 12 points of the game.”

It was a very close first half, with the teams tied up at 23 apiece with just over four minutes left before halftime.  Big buckets from Dani Nuest and Adeline Kent helped Becker to carve out a 33-29 halftime lead.

Becker hit just two of eight three point shots in the opening half, while Mankato was 0-for-7.  

In the opening minutes of the second half, Becker went on the attack and put together a 10-2 run, including three pointers from Lexi Rose and Westin and a pair of runners from Adeline Kent, as Becker took a 43-31 lead in the first  three minutes.

Becker’s help side defense was also much better, with the much taller Mankato team was getting harassed from both sides, as Bulldog coach Dan Baird’s adjustments seemed to be working.

Becker maintained a comfortable lead, ahead 49-35 as the teams headed into a TV timeout with 11:59 remaining in the game.

The next five minutes saw Becker extend the lead to 59-44, with the final shot being a huge three pointer from Lexi Rose, as the Bulldogs advanced the ball with three long passes and zero dribbles on the fast break to find her wide open on the left baseline.

This led to a Mankato timeout, and a quick 6-0 run of their own to force Baird to call his own timeout.

From there, the Bulldogs missed a few shots and all of the sudden it was a 60-60 ball game with just 1:31 remaining on the clock.

Baird called another timeout and ran a set play for Westin out the break, which led to a 12 foot jumper and another Becker lead, 62-60. Rose then hit another huge three for the Bulldogs to give her team a 65-62 advantage and the Bulldogs took care of the ball down the stretch to make it to the championship game.

Lexis Rose was the hot hand for the Bulldogs, scoring 21 points on 6-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc, while Liz Mackedanz logged nearly 20 minutes off the bench for the Bulldogs and collected six points while playing tough inside defense against the taller Mankato squad.

“We let a lead slip away, but came up with a key play or two to win the game despite losing the momentum,” Baird said.

Becker scoring: Nuest, four (four assists); Westin, 15 (six rebounds); Brown, 11; Kent, 10 (five assists, four steals); Lexi Rose, 21 (five rebounds, four steals); Mackedanz, six.