It’s on to state!
The Becker Lady Bulldogs basketball team blasted the #1-seeded Willmar Cardinals, 56-36 enroute to a Section 5AAA championship Thursday at Buffalo High School.
The win launches them to the state playoffs which begin Wednesday at Maturi Pavilion on the campus of the University of Minnesota (time and opponent yet to be determined).
The Bulldogs came out strong Thursday and led the entire game under the scoring of freshman Adeline Kent and sophomore Julia Bengtson. Kent dropped 19 points and Bengston 21, even after the duo experienced some early foul trouble.
Coach Dan Baird, unafraid to use his deep bench, cycled Bengtson and Kent in and out with the likes of eighth-graders Dani Nuest and Ayla Brown. The moves never hindered the Bulldogs as Nuest and Brown played tight defense and moved the ball and scored when called upon.
Early on, Dani Nuest received a pass in the corner of the court and after double clutching, her shot sailed over the rim and was rebounded by the Cardinals.
“Airball, airball, airball,” was chanted by the Willmar student section and they were relentless every time she touched the ball. But Nuest stayed poised and several minutes later, she collectively sank a longer three and silenced the chants.
That’s when Becker’s student section got raucous.
Many of the Becker boys basketball team — who had been eliminated from the playoffs earlier in the week — stood at the opposite end of the Cardinals with dozens of other students and vociferously rallied their team. By halftime, the Becker side of the court was roaring with approval while the Cardinal faithful fell silent. Becker led 35-17 after the first 18 minutes.
Kent, coming off an inconsistent semi-final against Big Lake, was on fire as she confidently soared to the basket — almost at will. When Kent left the court, Bengtson would take over and she was just too much for Willmar to handle. Her ball-handling and passing skills baffled the Cardinal defenders and when she couldn’t find an open teammate, she’d circumvent an opening and drain her shots just about every time.
Willmar got most of their baskets underneath, where Carly Wedel towered over the smaller Bulldogs and made some tough, in-close shots. Abby Berskow, another Cardinal senior, had the tough task of trying to get open and get to the basket, but Bengtson, Dani and Courtney Nuest and Kent all combined to slow her down. Berskow finished with just seven points while Wedel netted eight. Willmar’s biggest star, McKenzie Jones scored just two while Madi Linbo had just five. Sadie Raitz led the Cards with 10 points.
“These three players (Wedel, Linbo and Jones) were the players our coaching staff was most worried about and had to stop,” said Baird. “The team just battled and showed a lot of heart.”
The Cardinals were able to whittle the deficit down from 18 at halftime to 10 halfway through the second half, but Bengtson, Kent and the subs took control from there on out to cruise to the 20-point win. It was Becker’s 25th win to just four losses. Willmar finished their season at 21-5.
Willmar had broken Becker’s heart last year by beating the Bulldogs in the section semi-finals. This year, Becker turned the tables.
“We played our best defense of the year at the right time,” said Baird. “We just made everything very tough for Willmar. Our girls came to play!”
Becker scoring: Bengtson 21, Kent 19, C. Nuest 7, Megan Gamble 4, D. Nuest 3, Alana Lindquist 2.
Willmar scoring: Raitz 10, Wedel 8, Berskow 7, Madi Linbo 4, Katelyn Murphy 3, Mckenzie Jones 2, Ella Shinn 2.
Bulldogs Squash BL
It was a tale of two halves as the Lady Bulldogs eked out a seven-point win in Section 5AAA semifinals at Buffalo High School Saturday night.
When the clock ticked out, the Bulldogs leapt in the air, knowing their 63-56 win sent them to the section finals.
The Bulldogs came out hot, scoring 34 points to Big Lake’s 17 in the first 18 minutes to cruise to a comfortable lead. The lead was in part thanks to Courtney Nuest, who had 10 points in the first 10 minutes while some of Becker’s “usuals” struggled to find the bottom of the net.
Becker used the full-court press early on and that seemed to disrupt any flow or momentum the Hornets were trying desperately to establish. Becker Head Coach Dan Baird was not afraid to sit his starters when they got cold or fell into some foul trouble — Baird’s bench is deep with talent.
Dani Nuest was her usual fireplug self as she sparked her teammates with quality ball control, precise passing and solid defense. She finished with two points, one rebound, one assist and had four steals.
Adeline Kent struggled to sink her shots early on and ending up scoring six baskets in 18 shots and went five-of-six from the charity stripe. One has to give her credit as she never wavered in her push to drive to the basket or her decision-making when the game was on the line.
Big Lake made the proper adjustments at halftime and were a different team in the final 18 minutes. Being down by 17, they rallied behind superb rebounding and got the game to within six with minutes left.
The Hornets ended up outscoring the Bulldogs by 10, but the deficit was just too much to overcome as time ran out on their season.
The Hornets were led by Caela Tighe, who scored 23 points and had 13 rebounds. She also notched three assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
Point guard Emma Anderson played well despite harnessing a large leg brace resembling something from the Terminator movies. She finished with nine points and one rebound and helped direct the second-half comeback that came up just short.
With the win, Becker advanced to play Willmar, who had beaten St. Cloud Apollo, 54-44 in the earlier game Saturday. Willmar had a season record of 20-4 and beat Becker by six in the opening game of the season back on Nov. 27.
Becker scoring: C. Nuest 19, Kent 18, Megan Gamble 8, Julia Bengtson 7, Alana Lindquist 4, Lexi Masog 3, D. Nuest 2 and Ayla Brown 2.
Big Lake scoring: Tighe 23, Mia Huberty 10, Anderson 9, Roxanne Watkins 5, Reagan Sternquist 5, Olivia Stockham 2 and Kourtney Hintz 2.
