Jaguars split in Douglas County

I have a lot of catching up to do. It will take 2 hours of my night! I'll start with high school sports before shifting to college sports.

Today, at Brandon-Evansville high school in Brandon, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team broke a two-game skid with a 59-50 win over the host Chargers. The Jaguars racked up a 35-21 halftime lead while their defense limited the Chargers to 20 percent field goal shooting before halftime. Overall, the Jaguars shot a cold 31 percent on field goals and were 12-of-21 at the line. Bree Thieschafer led the team with 14 points, and Adley Hagen had 11 points as the other Jaguar in double figures.

Also in Brandon and after that girls game, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team suffered a 68-51 loss to the host Chargers after trailing 35-25 at halftime. The Jaguars were led by a double-double by Luke Illies (14 points and 11 rebounds)...Josh Walstrom had 13 points, and Taylor Pieper scored 10 points. As a team, the Jaguars shot at a 35 percent clip from the floor and went 6-of-12 at the free throw line. They drained 7 of 23 three-point attempts, including two each by Pieper, Walstrom and Austin Berge. The Chargers were led by Michah Fuller's 22 points.

Next Tuesday: the girls' basketball team hosts Kimball Area for their Central MN Conference opener, and the boys' basketball team hosts Benson.

Here's a video going back a week to the season opener for our boys' basketball team:


The video was recorded in the first half while the game was a one-possession contest (B-B-E trailing 29-26)...but the game got away from the Jaguars after this juncture.

Meanwhile...heartbreak in St. Cloud...
For the second time in the last 3 years, the St. Cloud State University women's volleyball team saw their season end in the NCAA National Tournament in a five-set loss in the Central Region Championship (the Sweet 16 round). This year, the loss in game five was by a 15-9 score to No. 6-ranked Central Oklahoma. Back in 2022, the Huskies lost 3-2 with a 15-13 game five loss to No. 3-ranked Concordia-St. Paul after holding an 11-7 lead in that final set. The SCSU Huskies finish this season 29-3 overall and just short of the Elite 8. B-B-E's Emily Kern is a junior on SCSU's team and had 5 digs while playing in all five sets.