A varsity split (VIDEO)

Well...we went 1-1 tonight.

On the home court against Minnewaska Area, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team suffered a roughly 7-minute scoring drought from the latter part of the first half and then the first 3 minutes of the second half. It was rough. In that span, the Lakers surged ahead from a 20-15 deficit to take a 29-20 lead. That 14-point swing was too much to overcome, and the Jaguars suffered their second straight loss. They've both been border battles. Final: Minnewaska Area 49, B-B-E 41.

The Lakers, who had just lost 47-45 two nights earlier at Paynesville Area, improved to 5-3 overall. They are a member of Sub-Section 3AA-North along with the Bulldogs.

The Jaguars had a 7-2 lead through the first 5 minutes of the game. The lead grew to 18-11 later in the first half. With about 2:56 left, Bree Thieschafer's layup gave the Jaguars a 20-15 lead, but the Jaguars would not score again until 3 minutes had passed in the second half.

Overall, the Jaguars shot an ice-cold 26 percent from the floor tonight. They went 10-of-17 (58 percent) at the free throw line. Junior Bree Thieschafer led the way with an incredible effort of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

*Here's a video featuring the starter introductions, game tip-off and the first 4 minutes of action:


Normally I am unable to do any reporting on what were formerly known as "preliminary games" which today we speak of as the JV and C-squad games. In the girls' C-squad game, the Jaguars prevailed 29-25, and in the JV game, the Jaguars won 46-21.

NEXT: the girls' basketball team travels to St. Cloud Apollo high school for an 11 a.m. tip-off on Friday, December 29 against Cass Lake-Bena. The Panthers (4-1) are one of the top competitors in Section 8A. One week ago tonight (Dec. 14), CL-B lost at Nevis 61-58. Nevis is a top competitor in Section 5A with our Jaguars.

At Minnewaska Area, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team got back in the win column while snapping a three-game losing skid. It was a hard-fought battle, but in the end the Jaguars won by one possession: 68-66. They had a 65-63 lead with 25 seconds to go. The halftime score had the Jaguars up 38-33. Senior Kaden DeRoo led the Jaguars with 20 points. Overall, the Jaguars shot 44 percent from the floor, but they were a mild 56 percent at the line (13-for-23).

NEXT: the Jaguars (2-3) travel to St. John's University on Friday, December 29 to face former section rival Nevis. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. I'll update this blog post again after 10:30 p.m.

Area girls' basketball scores on December 21:
New London-Spicer 72, Eden Valley-Watkins 32
Fridley 58, Willmar 41
BOLD 60, Springfield 27
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 43, Litchfield 36
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 53, Paynesville Area 37
Minneota 63, MACCRAY 58
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 61, Canby 45