A long and very successful basketball season came to an end last weekend for the Becker girls basketball team, which started practice back in November.  After 30 games and nearly double that number of practices, one would assume that the team and coaches are exhausted and would take a week or two to catch their collective breath.

“I’m actually not exhausted,” Coach Dan Baird said Monday afternoon as he reflected back on the season. “We had 12 girls at open gym this morning. It really means a lot to these kids.”

It’s that intense dedication and elite work ethic that has defined the program the past several years and led to an amazing amount of success.

The end of the official basketball season also means that a number of awards are being bestowed upon the Bulldog players, including having three players named to the Class AAA All-state team.  Having one team member receive the honor is a big deal, but having three members is a true rarity.

Senior Adeline Kent, as well as juniors Dani Nuest and Maren Westin, each earned the All State honors from the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association. The announcement was released just before the tipoff of the state tournament. In all, 41 players were named to the team, 10 from each class (there was a tie for 10th in Class A, thus the 41 total players).

All three girls have already announced their college decisions, with Kent, the team’s lone senior, planning to play basketball next season for the University of Tampa.

After finishing their high school careers, Nuest will enroll at Michigan Tech, while Westin will attend the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay as both players continue their basketball careers.

The Bulldogs also saw three players named to the Class AAA All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the state tournament. Kent and Westin were joined on the team by teammate Ayla Brown.  These awards honor those players who displayed the tenacity and made the biggest contributions to their team’s state tournament success.

In addition to those all-state and all-tournament selections, Baird was proud to announce another honor for his lone senior.

Adeline Kent has been selected to play in the MN Girls Basketball All-Star Series, which features the top 41 seniors in the state.  The games are scheduled to be played at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield on Saturday, April 9. Game times are at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.  

At the All-Star Series, the MN Miss Basketball committee will also name the 2022 MN Miss Basketball winner. Last month, Kent was named to the watch list and this week she was informed that she is a finalist for the award, given annually to the top girls basketball player in the state.

The All-Star event and Miss Basketball announcement will be a fitting tribute to Kent’s wonderful career as a Becker Bulldogs basketball player.

For the rest of the Bulldogs, there are apparently no days off as they are busy working on their skills in preparation for another stellar season come November.