Jaguars girls basketball trails 39-26 at halftime at Pierz - Final score: 74-50 loss

With 9:38 left in the first half, the Jaguars girls basketball team trailed 22-10.

The Pioneers had jumped out to a big early lead, then the Jaguars cut it to a 10-7 deficit. Pierz went on a 12-0 run to blow the game open with a 22-7 lead. Brittany Roelike helped break the Pioneers' run when she fed Erin Anderson in the paint for the Jaguars' second field goal of the game.

At the 3:00 mark in the first half, the Jaguars had kept pace with Pierz for a period of time to trail 34-23.

The Jaguars scored the first five points of the second half to cut the deficit to 39-31. The Pioneers put the throttle down, though, to go up 61-44 with six minutes remaining.

Final score: Pierz 74, B-B-E 50.

Pierz improves to 9-4 overall and 5-0 in the CMC. They lead the conference alone with an unblemished record. The Jaguars fall to 3-7 overall and 1-4 in the CMC. They are effectively knocked out of the conference race with this loss. Of course, they still have plenty of season to play for and the sub-section race could get interesting if they can heat up and get to .500 or better heading into March.

Central Minnesota Conference girls basketball results on Jan. 14:
Eden Valley-Watkins 46, Holdingford 40
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 53, Maple Lake 44
Kimball Area 53, Rockford 46 (a nice win for the Cubs, they haven't beaten the Rockets since the 1990s)

A final note, tonight's game was aired on Smooth Magic 107 of Glenwood, with outstanding coverage provided by sports broadcaster Dave McClurg. Thanks, Dave!

Central Minnesota Conference girls basketball standings on Jan. 14:
Pierz (5-0)
Kimball Area (3-2)
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (3-2)
Rockford (3-2)
Holdingford (2-2)
Eden Valley-Watkins (2-2)
B-B-E (1-4)
Maple Lake (0-5)

Area boys basketball results on January 14:
St.Cloud Catheldral 77, Melrose Area 75
Benson 81, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 44
Albany 79, Pierz 64
Montevideo 58, BOLD 44
Breckenridge 64, West Central Area 62 OT
New London-Spicer 62, Sauk Centre 59 (what a difference a year makes for the Streeters, although it's still not enough to nip the Wildcats in a conference battle)

Area girls basketball results on January 14:
BOLD 48, Montevideo 45
Upsala 78, Browerville 57

Games involving Section 6A boys basketball teams on Jan. 14
Ulen-Hitterdal 55, Norman County East 44
Ortonville 80, Hancock 51
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 65, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 39
Ada-Borup 75, Norman County West 44
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 50, Barnesville 45

Games involving Section 6A girls basketball teams on Jan. 14:
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 46, Brandon/Evansville 39
Barnesville 42, Underwood 39
Parkers Prairie 78, Battle Lake 46

**Don't miss out on Jaguar boys basketball action on Saturday afternoon, when they host the once-beaten Brandon/Evansville Chargers (7-1) in a 2:30pm matinee. The Chargers' lone loss is to West Central Area in a 71-66 double-overtime battle on January 4. They lead the Little Eight Conference with a 4-0 record, joining Battle Lake (8-0) at the top of the standings.

The Chargers average 63.8 points per game on offense, while on defense they give up an average of 47.5 points per game.

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