The Becker Lady Bulldog basketball team went 1-1 this past week, beating the Tigers of Princeton easily last week, then losing a heartbreaker in OT to Cambridge-Isanti Thursday. 

 

 

The Becker Lady Bulldog basketball team defeated the Princeton Tigers by a score of 76-52 last Friday at the Monticello Invitational.  

 

Becker was led in scoring by Julia Bengtson's 27 points to go with five assists and four steals.  

 

Becker also got a strong performance by Megan Gamble, who scored 11 points to go with eight rebounds.  

 

“Megan did a nice job neutralizing Princeton's strong and talented post players,” said Head Coach Dan Baird.  

 

Princeton was led in scoring by Lauren Bjurman's 15 points, but nothing came easy for her due to Gamble and Bengtson's solid play.

 

Becker outrebounded Princeton 47-44, which was a key stat since Baird’s team is undersized.  Princeton committed 37 turnovers to Becker's 17.  

 

“Our defense was very important in this contest because we didn't shoot very well,” said Baird.  “Only 37% for the game and 15% from the three point line.” 

 

The win moves Becker to 10-1 on the season where Princeton falls to 8-4.  

 

Becker scoring: Bengtson 27, Kent 12, Gamble 11, Dani Nuest 8, Courtney Nuest 7, Lexi Masog 7 and Alana Lindquist 4.

 

Princeton scoring: Lauren Bjurman 15, Mady Shafer 12, Johanna Kostanshek 8, Maddie James 5, Maddie Kleingartner 4, Tracy McGowan 4, Danika Rademacher 2 and Sydney Hill 2.

 

 

The Lady Bulldogs suffered a tough loss to the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets Thursday night on the road, losing 66-65.  

 

Becker was led in scoring by Julia Bengtson's 29 points.  

 

“Jules had a very solid game,” said Baird.  “We've done a nice job this season having multiple players step up when maybe one or two girls were having an off night.”  

 

Baird said his team entered Thursday’s game versus the Bluejackets with a 10-1 record partly because he’s had players pick up the slack for others having down games.  In Thursday’s game, Bengtson was lights out, scoring 18/24 points in the first half.  

 

“Our shooting was poor but it was compounded because it negatively affected us on the defense end, which is uncharacteristic of our squad,” said Baird.  “You have to give Cambridge credit.  Their depth was very apparent with Aumer's 20 points coming off the bench.”  

 

Jana Swanson continued her dominating play for Cambridge, contributing 18 points and showing off her incredible post moves.

 

“Cambridge was the first team this year, that our pressure didn't really have a huge impact on,” said Baird.  “They were a solid opponent and deserved to win the game.”  

 

Becker battled and  came back from an 11-point deficit with about four minutes to play to force overtime. That meant they had all the momentum going into the extra frame, but the team’s foul shooting let them down in OT, going just 2-for-6.  

 

“All that effort to get back in the contest, and the charity stripe let us down,” said Baird. “Tough to swallow.  We'll continue to work to improve and learn from this game, both players and coaching staff.”  

 

Becker falls to 10-2 on the season while Cambridge improved to 10-3.  These two teams will meet two times each season moving forward, as Becker moves into the Mississippi 8 Conference next year.

 

Becker scoring: Bengtson 29, Adeline Kent 11, Courtney Nuest 9, Lexi Masog 9, Megan Gamble 6 and Alana Lindquist 1.

 

C-I scoring: Swanson 18, Mikayla Aumer 17, Myranda Brogger 11, Kaylee Clement 8, Brooklyn Terwilliger, Molly Hennen and Payton Larkin 2.