Youth basketball success! (VIDEOS)

While some games have been a real battle against deeper teams from Willmar and New London-Spicer, B-B-E youth girls' basketball teams have found success worth celebrating at the summer Pepsi League games this summer. In last night's games, the C-squad Jaguars (next year's 9th graders) defeated the NL-S Wildcats in a relatively high-scoring game by a 46-40 margin. What was most exciting to me about that win was that the Jaguars played the first half of play (20 minutes running time) with just six players. They added a seventh player in the second half when seventh grader Brielle Worms joined them. Worms had played the first half with her Class of 2029 Jaguars. (More on them next...)

In another Pepsi League game last night, the Class of 2029 seventh graders (next year's eighth grade team) defeated Paynesville Area 25-19 after holding a 13-6 lead at halftime. The Jaguars and Bulldogs engaged in a defensive battle in the opening minutes before the Jaguars opened up a 9-2 first half lead. In the second half, the Jaguars had a lead as wide as 21-10 at one point before the Bulldogs had a 7-0 run to make it interesting in the game's final 5 minutes. With just under a minute to play, a three-pointer by Tessa Radermacher sealed up the win for her team and their beloved coach, Tiyana Schwinghammer. I considered it a huge win, as Paynesville won the Central Minnesota Conference seventh grade tournament this past February. (The Jaguars took third place.)

Here's a view from NL-S high school as the 7th grade team closed out the win against Paynesville:


*Here's a video featuring the view at the Brooten city park softball field during Bonanza Valley Days when the LifeLink III helicopter landed during the Friday night Brooten Firemen's chicken BBQ supper:


Seen in the video are Joyce Schwinghammer (Tiyana's grandma) plus one of Tiyana's cousins, who is a son of Jeana Schwinghammer of Aitkin. Jeana was a 2000 graduate of B-B-E high school.

We now enter a short period where there's a distinct lull in high school sports action. In fact, I don't see anything taking place on the high school level until the opening week of fall preseason practices. It is crazy to imagine, but the first day of fall preseason practices is Monday, August 12! That day is coming fast! The first official fall varsity athletic event is on Friday, August 16 when the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team travels to the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle triangular. They face LP-GE/Upsala-Swanville Area and Staples-Motley that day.

A note from Terrace, Minnesota...
RSVPs are due by July 28 for those attending the catered meal at Chippewa Falls Lutheran church for their 150th anniversary...**Click on the following link to get your RSVP entered in! https://forms.gle/4vFE4Eta515hyJkT8.