Becker used poise, speed and oozing talent to destroy the Rocori Spartans Tuesday night at home in the first round of the Section 5AAA Tournament.
Final score was 83-23.
Rocori came out of the gate fired up and their sparse fans exuded hope as the tip-off commenced at precisely 7:30 p.m. Rocori’s bench jumped to their feet when the Spartans drained the game’s first basket and Becker struggled to control the passes and took a few errant shots.
But after settling down, the Spartan bench and bleachers went silent as the Lady Bulldogs poured in 39 unanswered points in this one-sided exhibition.
The Spartans’ top scorers (four players) reached four points each, while Becker got double-digit scoring from three of their players.
Coach Dan Baird had the luxury of resting his top players and loosening the reins on his young second-stringers. No matter, the underclassmen looked like polished veterans as the Becker basketball continued to funnel the twine.
The future of Lady Bulldog basketball looks very bright with youngsters Dani Nuest (eighth grade), Maren Westin (eighth grade) and Jackie Yoerg (10th grade) saw extended playing time. Nuest finished with 12 points while Westin tallied eight and handled the ball well up and down the court. Yoerg had just one point but she also notched a steal, an assist and had two rebounds while limiting her opponents in opportunities with her long reach and smart decisions.
The starters — Julia Bengtson, Adeline Kent, Courtney Nuest, Alayna Lindquist and Megan Gamble combined for 45 of the 83 points in limited roles. By halftime, Becker had amassed a 57-10 lead and Baird’s starters saw the floor sparingly in the second half of Becker’s biggest margin of victory on the year.
Speed. It was all on display for the hometown team and their fans as Bengtson, Kent and Courtney Nuest easily penetrated the Spartan zone and made easy layups. Rocori had no answer for that speed and when Baird instituted a full-court press right out of the gate, the Spartan girls looked confused and frustrated in the swarming swathe of Bulldogs with their teeth bared.
Bengtson finished as the top scorer with 16 with Kent close behind with 15. Kent also tallied four blocked shots and seven rebounds.
Dani Nuest had 12 while Westin and Lexi Masog each had eight. Lindquist tallied six and Whitney Schug notched five off the bench. Courtney Nuest sank two baskets as did Gamble while Aly Gruenes had two points, one blocked shot, one steal and two rebounds.
Gamble also led the team in steals with five.
Yoerg, Ayla Brown and Amber Vogl each had one point as Becker got scoring from 13 different players.
Laney Griffen, Madison Goebel and Brooke Krebs were Rocori’s top scorers with four points each. They were followed by Soley Ayala, Lauren Johannes and Brooke Edlund with two points apiece.
Maggie Linz recorded one point to round out the scoring for the visitors.
Up Next
The Bulldogs (23-4) head to Buffalo High School Saturday night to take on the Big Lake Hornets (15-12), who defeated the Zimmerman Thunder, 46-32 in the other quarterfinal game Tuesday. Saturday’s winner will take on the winner of the Willmar (20-4) versus St. Cloud Apollo (17-10) game Thursday at Buffalo with the winner advancing to state.
