Editor’s Note: Effective Friday, the MSHSL has cancelled the girls basketball state tournament. All boys section and state tournaments have also been cancelled.
The Becker Bulldog girls basketball team will be playing in their second-straight state title game Saturday after beating Waconia and Alexandria this week.
Their opponent in the state game is the same DeLaSalle squad that squashed Becker’s dreams in the title game last year. Game time is 6 p.m. Saturday on the campus of the UofM.
Despite the challenge of taking down the Islanders who returned almost all their players from 2019, the Bulldogs are confident and ready.
“We just have to play our game and hit shots when we need to, said Guard Julia Bengtson after the game. “We have a lot of confidence right now.”
The Islanders beat the Bulldogs last year, 56-40 behind a bigger and heavier roster. It appears the only way the Becker girls can capture the title is by hitting their outside shots and create turnovers — playing their patented, tenacious defense.
They also need to get off to a faster start than they did just last year, where they missed key shots and were defended well, scoring just 22 points in the first half.
Becker 63,
Alexandria 55
In Becker’s first state playoff game Wednesday against the Alexandria Cardinals at the University of Minnesota, the Bulldogs struggled a bit at the onset, missing some long-range bombs and falling into foul trouble.
Alexandria gave Becker all that they could handle as the game see-sawed from one team’s lead to the others. Becker escaped the first half with a dainty two-point lead at 27-25 and the second half was set up for some serious drama.
With about five minutes to go in the game and the contest all knotted up at 43, the Bulldogs finally created some breathing room and went on a short run. Bengtson, Adeline Kent, Megan Gamble and Courtney Nuest started getting clean shots and the ball was finding the bottom of the net. The Cardinals stayed composed and battled back, but in the end the Bulldogs’ swarming defense and unselfish play wore the Cardinals down.
Becker had four players reach double-digit scoring (Bengtson, Kent, Gamble, C. Nuest) and the Cardinals were led by Ella Grove with 21. C. Nuest also added eight rebounds, one assist and one steal while Kent had five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Gamble also had eight rebounds.
Becker scoring: Bengtson 16, Kent 15, C. Nuest 13, Gamble 11, Ayla Brown 4, Maren Westin 2, Alayna Lindquist 2.
Alexandria scoring: Ella Grove 21, Mataya Hoelscher 10, Lilly Horn 10, Mia McGrane 6, Jaya Hatlestad 6, Alayna Strand.
Becker 96,
Waconia 75
In Becker’s second game Thursday, the Bulldogs put on a display that warranted their #2 state ranking, as they crushed the Waconia Wildcats by 21 to advance to the finals.
The Bulldogs looked relaxed and focused in Thursday’s game as they outplayed Waconia — scoring their second-highest point total on the year and giving the bench players some time on the court in the waning minutes.
Freshman Maren Westin garnered plenty of accolades as the clock ran out, as she tallied 19 points, pulled down three rebounds, had three assists and four steals. She was 7-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.
Bengtson was her usual greatness as she scored 20 points, had six rebounds, six assists and three steals in the win. Becker finished the game going 34-of-63 from the floor and 20-of-26 from the free throw line.
Senior Jenna Mittelstaedt received a roar from the large crowd when she sank one of her two free throws in the closing minutes. The team’s other senior, Aly Gruenes recorded one rebound in her time on the court.
Becker scoring: Bengtson 20, Westin 19, Kent 15, C. Nuest 12, Gamble 10, Brown 9, Dani Nuest 6, Lindquist 4, Mittelstaedt 1.
Waconia scoring: Audrey Swanson 16, Addy Salzer 14, Natalie Meath 11, Tess Johnson 10, Sydni Olson 6, Melissa Honnold 6, Dani Dykstra 5, Jayda Lenz 2, Ava Stier 2, Morgan Meyer 2, Allie Zimmer 1.
