Conference opener gets away from us (VIDEOS, UPDATES)

Ouch. That one hurt.

Putting a 10-day layoff from action to bed tonight did not go as planned for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team. Facing one of the top teams in Section 6AA that is also one of the defending Central Minnesota Conference co-champions, the Jaguars played aggressive basketball after tip-off. This featured Tiyana Schwinghammer earning a defensive rebound on the first series, Harley Roering getting to the free throw line one minute in and the defense forcing two early travel calls on the Huskers in the first two minutes. With 15:49 on the clock, Roering stood tall and took a charge.

*Here's that charging call:


Seeing the Jaguars coming out with this style of basketball was promising. We knew we had our hands full, but we did not see what was coming.

The first field goal attempt from the home team took place at the 15:31 mark, when the Huskers clanked a three-pointer.

With 14:20 left, the Huskers scored on a layup for the game's first made field goal. Seconds later, Abby Berge got to the line and made one of two free throws. This early 50 percent free throw shooting for the Jaguars was a thread that played out the remainder of the game. Holdingford called a timeout, and after that the Huskers were more aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop. By the 12-minute mark, the Huskers had a 6-2 lead after getting a breakaway, all-alone layup.

B-B-E trailed 10-3 with 11:05 left. With 9:20 to go, Abby Berge scored on a layup to make it a 12-8 deficit.

At halftime, the Jaguars trailed 31-22 and were only briefly in the game early in the second half and then for the shortest of moments in the final minutes.

Badly needing to come out firing, Schwinghammer stepped up out of the locker room and canned a three-pointer with just 24 seconds gone. The Huskers answered right away with a bucket, and Schwinghammer blazed down court and scored on a tough fast break layup attempt with 16:54 to go. This made it a 33-27 score, and the feeling was the Jaguars were rolling. The Huskers again answered right away and scored in the paint with 16:30 left to bring it back to an eight-point lead at 35-27. About 30 seconds later, the Huskers scored on a wide open layup. Ouch. That hurt. They drilled a three-pointer to cap a 7-0 run and hold a 40-27 lead.

*Here's another three-pointer by Schwinghammer, this one coming near the 10-minute mark:


With 5:38 to go, Allie Dingmann scored on the right block to make it a 51-38 deficit. While the Jaguars were able to continue scoring down the stretch, they did not get the necessary defensive stops to close the gap.

Final score: Holdingford 58, B-B-E 49. Very poor free throw shooting did not help at all tonight. I felt they shot around 18 percent from the ilne...in reality it was 45 percent (11-of-24) with solid 39 percent field goal shooting. However, that was not enough to counteract Holdingford's red hot 56 percent field goal shooting. Ice cold 40 percent free throw shooting in the second half was the biggest dagger in B-B-E's chances. Ultimately, a blowout loss was thwarted by 5-of-12 three-point shooting in that second half. The Jaguars matched Holdingford's 27 second-half points.

Also hurting: tough rebounding figures. Holdingford had 31 rebounds compared to 18 for the Jaguars.

Imagine: if they shoot 83 percent from the free throw line, the game is tied up on 20-of-24 free throw shooting.

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on December 9:
Eden Valley-Watkins 44, Kimball Area 35
Royalton 65, Maple Lake 30
Paynesville Area 53, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 47


Here's my third installment of a winter sports show:


And one thing I should have snuck into that sports show: if you could hear how members of the sixth grade girls' basketball team talks about our varsity team, it would warm your heart. They all think very highly and think the world of their varsity counterparts in the program. This is important to recognize and reflect on.

Game statistics are coming in the morning after 9 a.m.

GAME STAT SUMMARY:
The Jaguars had a trio of players in double figures, led by Abby Berge's 18 points with 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Next was Harley Roering's 14 points, 2 rebounds and 4 steals. Tiyana Schwinghammer had a solid 8-point second half while tallying 10 points, 3 blocked shots, multiple shot deflections, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Next for the girls' basketball team: the Jaguars are excited to get back on their home floor in front of their adoring hometown fans next Tuesday, December 13, with Upsala coming to town. See you there!