Fourth place at state is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

 

That’s where the Becker Lady Bulldog girls basketball team finished last weekend when they lost to Thief River Falls in the third place game at Concordia-St. Paul.

 

It all came down to shooting as the Prowlers shot the ball well and the Bulldogs struggled  to keep up, eventually falling 56-42.

 

Thief River Falls shot 23-for-42 (54.8 percent) from the field. Becker was 14-for-43 (32.6 percent) and trailed by as much as 23 in the second half.

 

“They got out to a lead on us and it felt like we were trailing the whole way,” said Bulldogs Coach Paul Lindsay. “We struggled to score inside and that makes it tough on us offensively when we can't get our inside-out game going.”

 

Senior Alexa Hanowski finished with 12 points to lead the Bulldogs, who finished their season 20-11 overall. Abbigail Morrell added eight and Amanda Lindsay six points.

 

Prowler sophomore Tiahna Nicholson led all players on the court with 23 points and 10 rebounds as Thief River Falls finished their season 27-4.

 

Teammate Meleah Biermaier had 13 points and 10 assists.

 

The trip to state marked the second state tournament appearance in program history for Becker, which captured the Class 3A state title in 2007.

 

Amanda Lindsay and fellow senior Alex Johnson were named to the Class 3A all-tournament team.

 

The team will lose seven seniors due to graduation including: Hanowski, Morrell, Rachel Vogl, Lindsay, Whitney Raygor, Mackenzie Swanson and Johnson.

 

“This class of seniors will be missed for sure next year,” said Kerzman’s dad Scott.  “At different times, all of them stepped up and helped out the team with a much needed boost to push them forward for a team win.” 

 

Scott’s wife, Shelly, agreed.

 

“One game a player scores 22 points, another game an individual has 18 rebounds and the next it was another player who pushed the boundaries of passing and assists,” she said.  

 

“It was great defensive effort from  all who supported the team from the first game all the way to state. They should be proud of the season they have completed as an unseeded team finishing fourth at the AAA level.”

 

Bulldog scoring: Hanowski - 12 pts., 2 rebs., 4 stls, 2 assts.; Morrell - 8 pts., 1 reb., 3 assts., 1 stl.; Lindsay - 6 pts., 3 rebs.; Johnson - 4 pts., 5 rebs., 1 asst., 1 stl.; Claire Thorn - 4 pts., 6 rebs.; Vogl - 3 pts., 1 asst.; Mackenzie Kramer - 2 pts., 2 rebs.; Victoria Kolbinger - 2 pts., 1 reb.; Kerzman - 1 pt., 3 rebs.

 

Prowler scoring: Nicholson - 23 pts., 10 rebs., 3 assts., 1 stl., 1 blk.; Meleah Biermaier - 13 pts., 3 rebs., 9 assts., 1 blk.; Kylea Praska - 8 pts., 4 assts.,; Jenna Tadych - 8 pts., 8 rebs., 1 stl., 1 blk.,; Kelsey Kainz - 4 pts., 4 rebs., 1 asst., 1 stl., 1 blk.