Last Thursday was Senior Night for the Becker girls basketball team and what a night it was, as Whitney Schug earned the start and came away with 21 points and a school record seven, three-point field goals (7-for-11) en route to a 82-18 Bulldog victory.
“This created one of those amazing Senior Night moments that you hear about and her teammates and coaches were really happy for her,” said coach Dan Baird, noting Schug’s incredible performance as she hit her first six shots from downtown.
“Whitney loves to shoot and just play basketball. Watching her experience that success in the moment was really cool.”
While Baird was quick to note Schug’s shooting performance, he said that her character is also what helps her to stand out.
“Whitney always remains positive and never complains,” added Baird. “I’m so happy for her!”
While Schug stole the offensive spotlight, it was the entire contingent of senior players that were honored on the evening, including Julia Bengtson, Courtney Nuest, Megan Gamble, Alayna Lindquist, and Jackie Yoerg. In describing the group, Baird was quick to point out not only their basketball skills, but also their academic prowess.
“They are a great group that really put the time in to succeed and they represented in the classroom, too, with a 3.93 GPA collectively,” said Baird.
The game itself was never close, as the Bulldogs used their all-senior starting lineup to race to a 52-11 halftime lead. For the game, Becker forced 33 turnovers and only committed seven.
Scoring: Adeline Kent 13, Maren Westin 6, Alayna Lindquist 4 (5 assists), Julia Bengtson 11, Courtney Nuest 6 (10 rebounds), Whitney Schug 21, Dani Nuest 4 (4 steals), Megan Gamble 9, Jackie Yoerg 3, Ayla Brown 3, Eveline Kreft 2.
The win cemented the Bulldogs’ second consecutive Mississippi 8 Conference championship and pushed the team’s overall record to 14-0 on the season.
Schedule Shuffle
Becker missed a pair of games in the past week to their opponents being in COVID-19 protocols, including last Saturday’s marquee matchup with Hopkins and a Thursday rematch with the Big Lake Hornets. However, Baird and Activities Director Dave Niemi were busy working the phones and were able to find some replacement games in Class AAAA state ranked Minnetonka (March 11) and another chance at Class AAAA #1 ranked Hopkins (March 12). Despite riding one of the best winning streaks in the state, Baird was not shy about scheduling some of the top programs in the state for competition.
“We like to challenge ourselves in the non-conference schedule,” said Baird. “Playing harder teams there makes anything you see at sections a little easier, and the goal is to prepare yourselves to make a run at the state title for Class AAA.
“Going undefeated by scheduling all winnable games doesn’t necessarily make your team better.”
STARS
Tuesday night, Becker filled a missing hole in its schedule by traveling to Minneapolis to take on the leading team in the Tri-Metro Conference, the 14-1 Academy of Holy Angels Stars who are currently ranked #3 in Class AAA.
On paper the matchup looked to be an offensive shootout, as the Bulldogs are averaging 86 points per game to the Stars‘ 80.
It didn’t end up as a high scoring affair, although the game itself didn’t disappoint casual basketball fans, with Becker falling just short in a 70-71 loss.
It was a contrast in styles, as Becker outshot the Stars from beyond the three point line by hitting 14 buckets to Holy Angels’ two. From inside the arc it was a different story, as the Stars hit 25 shots to the Bulldogs’ 12.
Scoring: Kent 11, Westin 11, C. Nuest 14, Bengtson 14, D. Nuest 1, Gamble 13, Brown 6.
