The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has earned a seed for next week's state tournament. This is big! The Jaguars are the No. 5 seed and will play at 1 p.m. at Maturi Pavilion on the campus of the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis on Thursday, March 16 in the state quarterfinals. Spread the word! **STATE T-SHIRT order information is posted at the very end of this blog post...take note!!!!!
B-B-E's state quarterfinal opponent will be No. 4-seeded Underwood, champions of Section 6A. The Rockets defeated Hancock 64-50 in the section finals last night. They will be a formidable opponent. Underwood has four senior players listed at 5'10" and a fifth senior who is listed at 5'5"...five seniors on the roster just like our team. Look for more information on them to be added here later today.
In last night's Section 6A championship, Underwood trailed 33-27 at halftime to Hancock at Fergus Falls Otter Fieldhouse. The Rockets led 9-2 out of the gate. In the second half, they expanded their lead to as many as 16 points. Junior 5'9" guard Liz Lukken led Underwood and all scorers with 24 points. She was followed by 21 points from senior 5'10" forward Mo Bugbee (6 rebounds and 4 assists) and 17 points from 6'0" sophomore guard Kallyn Grove.
The Rockets are 26-3 overall and have won 17 straight games. Their offensive and defensive numbers appear almost identical to B-B-E's: 65 points per game scoring average with a defensive average of 45 points per game. They went 16-1 in the Little Eight Conference to finish in a tie for first place with Hancock, with whom they split with in the conference series. Underwood's last loss was to Hancock in their first meeting with the Owls, hosted in Hancock on January 10 with a final score of 55-52. On February 9 in Underwood, the Rockets beat Hancock 60-58 to draw into first place in the Little Eight.
On December 6, Underwood took their first loss of the season with a 69-48 setback at Perham, who is a Class 2A state qualifier (rated No. 8 on the QRF).
On the QRF, Underwood is ranked No. 7, while B-B-E is ranked No. 4. Quite honestly, on paper, this game is dead even.
Last season, Underwood lost 61-56 to Hancock in the Section 6A championship, and the Owls went on to finish first with a win in the finals over Minneota. The Vikings, for what it's worth, had won state titles in 2019 and 2021. (In case you forgot, the 2020 state tournament was cut short by the 'Rona.)
2023 Class 1A girls' basketball state tournament seedings:
1. Mountain Iron-Buhl
2. Hayfield
3. BOLD
4. Underwood
5. B-B-E
Random draws: Minneota (paired with MI-B); Badger-Greenbush/Middle River (with Hayfield); United Christian Academy (with BOLD).
Thursday, March 16 schedule (all at Maturi Pavilion):
11 a.m. - MI-B vs. Minneota
1 p.m. - B-B-E vs. Underwood
3 p.m. - Hayfield vs. B-G/MR
5 p.m. - BOLD vs. UCA
If the Jaguars win on Thursday, they will play at noon at Williams Arena on Friday, March 17. That's all I've got right now.
B-B-E STATE TOURNAMENT SHIRT ORDERS!
Don't miss this! The STATE shirt orders are due by MIDNIGHT on Sunday, March 12...less than 36 hours!!! Get on it, Jaguar Country! Here's the website link: Http://www.rambow.com. The STORE code is BBEGIRLS.
