Girls' basketball nabs ugly win at Melrose (VIDEOS*, Updates)

It was not pretty, but the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team survived a late comeback attempt by Melrose Area after building a 17-point lead in the second half. A buzzer-beating three-pointer by the Dutchmen made the final score 59-56. After falling back by a wide margin, the Dutchmen turned up fullcourt pressure in an attempt to thwart B-B-E's speed. They also became more effective at forcing long shots with better interior defense.

With about 8 minutes to go in the first half, the Jaguars had a 17-6 lead.

Here's a video from the middle of the first half:


The Dutchmen played even with the Jaguars for the next 3 minutes, but a baseline shot by Macey Roering, a shot in the paint by Mya Worms and a free throw by Teagan Dingmann made it 26-14 with 3:44 left.

Here's a video from later in the first half:


The Dutchmen closed out the first half with an 8-2 run in the last 3 minutes before halftime.

In the second half...
A three-pointer by Makenna Roelike extended B-B-E's lead to 35-22 with 11:11 left. Back-to-back shots by Teagan Dingmann and Kamie Fischer brought the score to 39-24 with 9:40 left, and additional field goals by Jacinta Jackson and Worms made it 46-29 with 6:30 left.

Credit to Melrose, the chips were down after they fell back by 17 points, and it appeared that B-B-E was on its way to blowing the Dutchmen off the court. Across the next minute of play, however, the Dutchmen went 4-for-4 on two trips to the line and also got a three-point play from junior Aubrey Funk. Funk's three-point play with 5:27 left made the score 46-36, as the home team found new life.

After the Jaguars had an empty trip to the free throw line for a bonus opportunity, Avery Braegelmann went 3-for-3 at the line to cut B-B-E's lead to 46-39.

With 5 minutes to go, Teagan Dingmann scored on a fastbreak layup for a badly needed bucket. From that point on, however, the Jaguars got just one field goal on Macey Roering's shot in the paint with 2:50 left. That shot put the lead at 53-43, and the last 6 points they scored were all on double bonus free throw tries.

Here's a 4-minute video clip featuring the last 18 seconds of the game:


The final field goal attempt from near half court was launched by Melrose senior guard Kaitlyn Klasen.

Some light game statistics...
The Jaguars shot a cold 30 percent from the floor, made just 2 of 14 three-point attempts and were 17-of-34 at the free throw line. Teagan Dingmann was the leading scorer with 15 points.

Next: the Jaguars (5-1 overall) now travel the opposite direction on Monday for a second straight border battle. This time, the Jaguars head to Swift County to Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. The Fighting Saints were 4-1 overall heading into tonight's game at Minnewaska Area. It is a huge game for K-M-S, as both teams are in Sub-Section 3AA-North. Update: the Lakers beat K-M-S 77-44.

With their third straight loss, the Dutchmen fell to 1-4 overall. Their lone win was by a 61-46 score at Paynesville Area on December 2.

That's all I can post for now...I just spent the last hour delivering B-B-E Blaze JO volleyball pizzas, and I'm also in the midst of 2025 tax preparation.

Coming on Saturday! Don't forget! The Norway Lake Lutheran community is hosting a Christmas Jubilee sing-along at East Norway Lake Lutheran Church. Their soup meal starts at noon, and the singing gets going at 1 p.m. Read all the details, including the cost, by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: NorwayLakeChristmasJubilee.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on December 19:
Eden Valley-Watkins 52, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 47
Paynesville Area 67, Maple Lake 43

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on December 19:
Holdingford 87, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 55

Area girls' basketball scores on December 19:
Henning 59, Battle Lake 53
Foley 70, Upsala 26
New London-Spicer 80, Annandale 32
Yellow Medicine East 80, Montevideo 49
Willmar 79, St. Cloud Crush 12
West Central Area 55, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 49
Ogilvie 69, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 57
Osakis 58, Browerville 21
Underwood 48, Parkers Prairie 35
Ashby 40, Hancock 37
Minnewaska Area 77, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 44
Swanville 63, Sebeka 36

Area boys' basketball scores on December 19:
Willmar 86, St. Cloud Tech 76
Brandon-Evansville 83, Kimball Area 79
Annandale 81, New London-Spicer 54
Benson 85, Lac qui Parle Valley 52
CMCS 97, Paynesville 54
Melrose 58, Minnewaska 50 (Dutchmen improve to 2-3 overall and break a 3-game skid)