The #5-seeded Becker Bulldogs defeated the#4-seeded Monticello Magic 69-57 in a Section 5AAA contest Tuesday night in Monticello.
Becker shot 11-of-21 from the three-point line which propelled them to the victory.
Nuest was on fire in this contest, connecting on six three-pointers and finishing with 22 points.
“Courtney is a natural scorer,” said Head Coach Dan Baird. “She's playing with a lot of confidence right now which is great to see.”
Bengtson scored 13 points for the Bulldogs and was great weaving in and out of the heart of Monticello's defense. Tripp did a great job on defense at the top of Baird’s 1-3-1 defense.
“Renee anticipates so well on defense and makes it miserable on opposing point guards,” he said.
Besides her great defense, Tripp also scored nine points by attacking the basket. Kerzman scored 10 points with excellent low post moves.
Monticello was led by Anna Olson's 18 points.
“She was great from the elbows,” said Baird.
Lauran Zack added 13 points, connecting on four three-pointers.
Monticello ends the season with 8-19 record.
This was a nice section win for the Bulldogs, improving their overall record to 11-16.
Becker scoring: Nuest 22, Bengtson 13, Kerzman 9, Tripp 9, Lexi Masog 6, Haley Benda 4, Claire thorn 4 and Alyna Lindquist 2.
Monticello scoring: Olson 18, Zwack 13, Natalie Swanson 10, Brooke Bechtold 8, Mia Banack 4, Brooke Haag 3 and Cat Terres 1.
Thunder 81, Becker 73
In the final regular season game of the season, the host Zimmerman Thunder defeated the Becker Bulldogs 81-73 last Friday night to earn the Granite Ridge Conference and Section 5AAA titles.
The Thunder were led by Alyssa Daugherty's 20 points and excellent point guard play.
“Danielle Williams was a nuisance all night long on defense,” said Becker Head Coach Dan Baird. “She's an excellent on-the-ball defender.”
Demie Bond scored 14 points and showed excellent senior leadership. Ilea May was impressive at attacking the offensive boards which contributed to her 14 points.
With the accomplishment, Zimmerman gets a bye in the first round of the Section 5AAA playoffs with the #1 seed.
Becker fell behind in this contest early and before they knew it, they were down by a score of 26-6.
“We turned it over which led to easy layups,” said Baird.
Baird switched his girls to a 1-3-1 defense, which helped settle the game down.
Impressively, the Bulldogs battled all the way back and took the lead in the second half briefly — but struggled getting the shot they needed in the last two minutes.
“We didn't give up in this game, so I'm proud of our girls,” said Baird. “We battled which is all I ask.”
Becker was led by Lexi Masog's sharpshooting abilities. Masog scored 15 points, connecting on five three-pointers.
Courtney Nuest had 14 points, continuing her recent excellent play. Renee Tripp and Claire Thorn each contributed 11, to go along with Haley Benda's 10.
“We had five girls in double figure,s which was nice,” said Baird. “The problem is, so did Zimmerman.”
Becker scoring: Masog 15, Nuest 14, Tripp 11, Thorn 11, Bengtson 6, Alayna Lindquist 4, Madi Kerzman 2.
Zimmerman scoring: Daugherty 20, Williams 16, Bond 14, May 12, Mikayla Pool 10 and McKenna Upton 7.
Up Next
The Bulldogs get a rematch with the #1-seeded Zimmerman Thunder (23-3) Saturday at 6 p.m. in Buffalo in round two of section play. It's a “white out” for all the Bulldog fans who are encouraged to support their team by wearing white.
