extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Saturday, February 21, 2026
One more to state wrestling; girls' basketball earns No. 2 seed
At Canby high school today, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling teamhad individual Section 5A competition underway starting at 10 a.m. Once the dust settled, freshman Noah Jensen earned his second trip to the state tournament by winning the 114-pound title. At 139, freshman Noah DeRoo took third place as the other high finisher for the Jaguars.
At state last year at 107 pounds, Jensen took third place and finished 39-8. He was the only underclassmen member of last year's Jaguars to compete at state. Jensen joins Elizabeth Rademacher in the state trip, as she won the 130-pound girls' Section 5 title on February 7 at St. Michael-Albertville high school.
In basketball news...
The Sub-Section 5A-East rankings show the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team as the No. 2 team out of a field of 8 schools. Braham has the top seed for the playoffs that begin on Thursday, February 26. The Jaguars have an 18-8 record and will host Mille Lacs in their quarterfinal game in Belgrade on the 26th. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Swanville, the Prairie Conference champions, earned the No. 3 seed with a 14-11 record.
It has been all hands on deck in Belgrade, as an alleged shooting took place on School Street on the far eastern edge of town. A video posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website has more: BelgradePoliceResponse.
Here's another video recorded at about 12:45 p.m. today:
This video (above) was recorded near the Crow River Township Hall.
Saturday night update: law enforcement officers have successfully resolved the situation. The newspaper web article has been updated with additional information. We can all say a prayer of thanks that no loss of life has occurred. Also, it's a great reminder to show gratitude towards law enforcement for the multiple situations their jobs put them in harms way.
Coming tonight: a new blog post featuring girls' basketball and wrestling news. I haven't been able to catch up to anything regarding the Section 5A individual wrestling tournament in Canby.
Jaguars are conference champions! Yes, that just happened! (VIDEOS)
With the chips down, trailing 46-34 with over 11 minutes in the game, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team turned the tide and chipped away at the double-digit deficit. Nearly 8 minutes later, an underhanded layup shot by Kacey Fischer under the basket tied it at 53-53. From that point on, it was a barn burner and a one-possession game down to the final buzzer. Final score:B-B-E 60, Kimball 57!
With the win, the Jaguars claimed sole possession of the Central Minnesota Conference title. It's their first title since the COVID season in 2020-2021. It's also just the second girls' basketball conference title in school history. The former school districts of Brooten and Belgrade each won multiple girls' basketball conference titles between 1973-74 and the 1987-88 seasons. (Something I hope to spell out completely in next week's newspaper.)
This was a thoroughly exciting night where the C-squad prevailed 25-24, and the JV team defeated their Kimball counterparts by a wide margin.
Next: the Jaguars (18-8) take it to the next part of the season when they host a Sub-Section 5A-East quarterfinal game next Thursday in Belgrade. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. Please spread the word!
Here's a video from the first half of tonight's game:
Kimball Area led 34-31 at halftime after the Jaguars previously led 22-9. The video above features action taking place soon after B-B-E built the 22-9 lead.
This video begins with about 4:45 to go before halftime:
The Cubs tied the game at 26-26 on two bonus free throws with 3:40 left. Teagan Dingmann answered for B-B-E with a three-pointer 20 seconds later.
How the first half played out tonight:
For the second straight night against a conference opponent, the Jaguars got off to a good start. Kacey Fischer got two free throws one minute after tip-off. Kimball junior guard Hope Kuechle cashed a three-pointer to gain their first lead of the night. It was short-lived, as 90 seconds later, Teagan Dingmann drained two free throws for the second lead change of the night. Thirty seconds after that, she scored on a floater in the lane. On the next possession, Kimball junior forward Mazie Jurek scored her first basket of the game.
The Jaguars took control and dominated for the next 4 minutes of the game. Back-to-back three-pointers by Tiffany Dingmann and Kacey Fischer made it 12-5 with 13:40 left, and Kimball head coach Jeremy Kuechle called his first timeout. B-B-E kept the pressure up, and back-to-back cleanup shots in the paint by Kacey Fischer extended the lead to 18-7. Jurek scored a minute later, but Reese Kampsen hit a three with 10:15 left for a 22-9 score.
With 9:35 on the clock, Jurek cashed a three-pointer as momentum shifted to the Cubs. Just over a minute later, Kuechle's layup cut it to 22-14. Jurek later scored back-to-back paint shots to cut it to 23-18. On the next possession, Teagan Dingmann scored her second three of the game. Across the last 6 minutes of the first half, however, the Cubs outscored the Jaguars 16-5.
Halftime: Kimball 34, B-B-E 31. After being out-hustled in the opening minutes of the game, the Cubs took heed from timeout talks from Coach Kuechle to match B-B-E's physical presence. The Cubs got to loose balls quicker and were winning the battle on the boards as the first half closed out.
How the second half played out...
While it was her first basket of the night, it was a big one when Kimball junior guard Claire Maus hit a three-pointer in the opening seconds of the second half. It fueled a 12-4 run for the Cubs. Kimball senior forward Brooklyn Molitor earned a three-point play that gave Kimball a 46-34 lead with 11:15 to go.
Macey Roering's three-pointer with 10:50 to go marked the beginning of B-B-E's epic comeback. With 8:24 left, Coach Kristina Anderson called a full timeout. On the ensuing inbounds play, Teagan Dingmann scored on a deep three-point shot that made it a 46-42 deficit while capping an 8-0 run.
With 6:35 left, Kacey Fischer scored on the right block for a 50-46 deficit. A shot by Reese Kampsen and then a three-pointer by Roering made it a 51-51 tie game with 4:30 left.
In the closing minute, trailed 56-55, Teagan Dingmann got free deep in the left corner and connected for her fourth three-pointer of the game with 29 seconds left with the assist credited to Roering. Kimball junior guard Claire Rasset launched a three-pointer with 7 seconds to go, but it glanced off the rim. Kacey Fischer snared the biggest defensive rebound of the game, and she was promptly fouled. She salted the lead by going 2-for-2 on bonus free throws with 4.1 seconds left for the game's final score.
Here's a video featuring the last 38 seconds of the game:
For Kimball Area, they are hovering in the 4th to 6th place ranking in Section 6AA. Seeding for that section takes place on Sunday, February 22.
More to come here after 11 p.m. Also, hats off to the 4th and 5th grade students who peformed the National Anthem prior to tip-off tonight. Over this weekend, I hope to get the video of their performance online.
Area girls' basketball scores on February 20:
Pequot Lakes 72, Royalton 47
Mayer Lutheran 85, Cass Lake-Bena 42
Milaca 70, Holdingford 50
Brandon-Evansville 67, Swanville 53
Sauk Centre 43, Melrose Area 28
Menahga 83, Pine River-Backus 63
Area girls' basketball playoff scores on February 20:
New London-Spicer 96, Litchfield 37
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 60, Eden Valley-Watkins 54
Minnewaska Area 67, Paynesville Area 24
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 74, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 68
GAME NIGHT! Conference title up for grabs (VIDEO, updates)
These games are rare in a sports reporter's career.
Tonight, in a winner-take-all Central Minnesota Conference game, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball teamis hosting Kimball Area to conclude the regular season. The winners takes first place and gets a trophy for permanent display in their trophy case, and the loser gets mention of second place but no hardware to speak of. It's a huge game for the Jaguars, who have lost 3 straight games and need to right the ship before heading into playoffs.
The Cubs are 18-5 overall. Both teams are currently tied for first place in the CMC with identical 11-2 records.
Here's action featuring the final minute of the first half last night:
Game updates will follow here.
HALFTIME: Kimball 34, B-B-E 31. The 22-9 lead that the Jaguars held with 10:15 to go is a distant memory. The Cubs have come alive in a big way and regained the lead on Hope Kuechle's shot in the lane with about 40 seconds to go. That made it 32-31 Cubs. Kuechle then hit a shot off the glass on a drive from the right wing to make it a 3-point spread heading into the locker room.
Hit refresh to see the final score and more in a NEW blog post after 9 p.m.
In a Central Minnesota Conference game on the home court, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team suffered a 74-63 loss to a hot-shooting Holdingford team as they fell into a tie for first place with Kimball Area. Cold 33 percent field goal shooting hampered the cause as the Huskers rained three-pointers on the Jaguars to earn a split in the conference series.
The Jaguars got off to a great start in the game's opening minutes with an early 10-2 lead.
Early inside baskets by Mya Worms (17:43) and then Teagan Dingmann...plus a three by Kacey Fischer got the Jaguars out to a 7-0 lead with one minute played. Another field goal by Kacey Fischer made it a 10-2 lead. Across the next 1 1/2 minutes, however, the Huskers narrowed it to a 10-8 score. They later gained the lead on a three-pointer to go ahead 17-15.
Here's the tip-off and first 2 minutes of the game:
The Huskers led 36-29 at halftime.
Senior Riley Breth was nearly unstoppable as the senior 5'11" forward poured in 27 points with 8 rebounds and 4 steals for the Huskers. Kacey Fischer also had a monster game with 26 points to lead the Jaguars. She knocked down both of her three-point attempts and made 8 of 16 two-point shots for 55 percent field goal shooting.
Holdingford clinched fourth place alone with an 8-6 record. B-B-E falls to 11-2, and this loss sets up a rare winner-take-all game in Belgrade tomorrow. The Kimball Area Cubs will provide the competition, you can bet the house that they'll come in fired up. Spread the word! Let's get a rowdy, loud hometown crowd ready to cheer on the Jaguars to a win.
Overall, B-B-E is 17-8 and has a lock on the No. 2 seed in Sub-Section 5A-East. The rankings will be finalized on Saturday. The playoffs will open at home on Thursday, February 26 at 7 p.m. in Belgrade.
In boys' basketball action...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team lost a tough one by a 63-61 score at Royalton tonight. The Jaguars trailed 41-32 at halftime. They are now 7-6 in the CMC and still in third place. However, they have to defeat Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City next week in order to stay in third place. The Royals are 10-14 overall and 6-6 in the CMC.
Next: the boy's basketball team hosts Benson next Monday. The Jaguars have climbed to No. 10 in the latest QRF rankings in Section 6A.
In the Central Minnesota Conference, Paynesville Area remained in first place alone after surviving a scare from sixth-place Kimball Area. The Bulldogs won tonight in Kimball 82-80.
Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on Feb. 19:
Maple Lake 96, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 83
Paynesville Area 82, Kimball Area 80
Holdingford 65, Eden Valley-Watkins 49
Area girls' basketball scores on February 19:
Melrose Area 65, Kimball Area 61
Benson 68, Mille Lacs 47
Yellow Medicine East 68, Lac qui Parle Valley 56
Wabasso 48, Renville County West 42
Milaca 67, Albany 32
Sauk Centre 64, Royalton 59
Lester Prairie 62, Maple Lake 42
Brandon-Evansville 62, Upsala 53
Osakis 46, Swanville 42 (Swanville still wins the Prairie Conference title alone with a 9-1 record; the Silverstreaks took second at 8-2)
Braham 72, Barnum 43
Pine River-Backus 65, Cass Lake-Bena 45
Becker 58, Alexxandria 46
West Central Area 71, Hancock 64
Border West 67, Ortonville 14
Parkers Prairie 74, Henning 68
Area boys' basketball scores on February 19:
Albany 81, Pierz 71
Central-Norwood Young America 74, New London-Spicer 66
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 51, Sauk Centre 45
Melrose Area 52, Litchfield 51
Minnewaska 63, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 48
Benson 96, Browerville 61
Underwood 49, Border West 41
Montevideo 70, Dawson-Boyd 62
Winter weather blows up the middle of the week...and basketball tonight!
We've had a crazy turn of events! Good grief! Let's hope this isn't a sign of things to come for basketball playoffs. A rain/ice/snowstorm gripped the Bonanza Valley area and beyond on Wednesday. The main result was that school at B-B-E started 2 hours late today. Beyond that, Wednesday evening events and athletic practices were cancelled after school was dismissed at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
Rural travel was treacherous on Wednesday night, and moving around in town on foot was also tricky as temperatures dropped below 32 degrees by mid-afternoon. The Ash Wednesday worship at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church was cancelled, and instead, the Trinity/WLJ Parish will hold Ash Wednesday worship tonight at 7 p.m. at Trinity in Brooten. I had planned on Ash Wednesday at WLJ, but as it appears, I'll miss worship at Trinity due to a home basketball game. I'd skip the basketball game, but it is senior night. Because newspaper publishing duties, I missed the boy' basketball team's senior/parents night held before Tuesday's basketball game in Brooten. Fortunately, I got a nice picture of the five seniors after their game. That's what you'll see in the newspaper this week.
Ash Wednesday worship was held at St. Francis de Sales Catholic church at 7 p.m. last night. I wish I could have made it - but honestly, I was out of gas! I lost all desire to leave home last night as the weather bit down.
In basketball action...
Tonight is senior night for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, as they will honor four seniors: student athletes Kacey Fischer and Tiffany Dingmann plus student managers Kenna Lieser and Josie Buckentine. The Jaguars host Holdingford in another big Central Minnesota Conference game. The Jaguars have yet to grab at least a share the Central Minnesota Conference title...that could happen tonight.
Meanwhile, at Royalton, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is in a key CMC game with the Royals. I have to somehow keep tabs on that game via their online stream.
AT HALFTIME: the boys trailed by 9 points at halftime in Royalton. For the girls, they trail 36-29 at the break.
On a night with two home contests on the hardwood, results were one and one for local fans.
In a key Central Minnesota Conference game in Brooten, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated Maple Lake 75-71 to stay in the hunt for third place. It was a great night where the Jaguars overcame an early 8-4 deficit to hold a 44-31 halftime lead.
Next: now winners of four straight, the Jaguars have a tough assignment with a road trip to Royalton on Thursday this week. B-B-E (12-10) is currently 7-5 in the CMC and in third place alone. The Royals played at Sauk Centre tonight in a Section 6AA game.
Maple Lake falls to 8-15 overall and 2-10 in the CMC.
In girls' basketball action...
In a second straight non-conference game against a Camden Conference juggernaut in Belgrade, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team fell 75-60 to MACCRAY. The Jaguars now have two remaining games on the season: Thursday against Holdingford and Friday against Kimball. Both games are on the home floor to close out a four-game homestand before playoffs.
Here's a short video featuring action leading up to halftime against MACCRAY:
On Monday this week, the Eden Valley-Watkins boys' basketball team lost 73-55 in a border battle at Paynesville. This knocks the Eagles out of a tie for third place in the CMC; they're now 8-14 overall and 6-6 in the CMC. In another noteworthy neighborhood boys' basketball game last night, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg invaded neighboring Benson and came home with a 78-62 win. This was just the third loss of the season for Benson, who is 19-3 overall and travels to Brooten to face our Jaguars next Monday.
**LATE Tuesday update: in a CMC girls' basketball game at Kimball tonight, the Royalton Royals lost 55-54 to finish the conference loop with an 11-3 record.
In other news...
I've only had a few minutes here and there this winter to try catching up with the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team. Two of their veteran team members, Coby Schoumaker and Owen Miller, provided comments last Friday at the Sno-Daze pep fest about the current robotics season. You can click over to the official F.I.R.S.T. robotics website to learn more about their 2026 competition: https://www.firstinspires.org/programs/frc/game-and-season.
The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa speech team hosted their second annual Jagtastic Invitational on Saturday at the high school with awards hosted inside Olson Auditorium. Full results are published in this week's newspaper.
High placewinners for B-B-E included juniors Marlie Schlangen and Surabhi Velez, who were both double entries. Velez placed 3rd in discussion and 4th in extemporaneous speaking - domestic issue. Schlangen placed 3rd in extemporaneous reading with poetry and 4th in poetry.
Here's a video featuring Velez during awards while Discussion results announced:
The speech team features 12 on the roster during a period of time where it is becoming more and more difficult for schools (not just B-B-E) to convince students to show they can show commitment and perseverance. It's a battle most people cannot imagine. For me, it is extremely frustrating. For the men and women who hold roles as Activities Directors and coaches, the battles they endure to get students on board with extra-curricular programming often later become the struggles that business owners have getting workers who can show commitment to this thing known as a "job"!
On a significantly brighter note, it's wonderful when I hear coaches and teachers speak about the high character displayed by B-B-E students. This week, readers of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper can read about this regarding Owen Roering. He is featured in the February 19 issue's Jaguar Spotlight.
UPDATES: At halftime against MACCRAY, the girls' basketball team is trailing 39-26.
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team earned a thrilling 80-74 double overtime win at Kimball tonight! The score at the end of regulation was 62-62. With about 3 minutes to go, the Jaguars led 62-55.
After the first overtime period, the score was tied 66-66.
In the last minute of double overtime, Austin Berge went 4-for-4 on double bonus free throws to help seal the win. After B-B-E built a 74-69 lead, the Cubs cut it to 74-72 with a three-point play. Lance Radermacher then made a huge shot in the paint to push it back to a two-possession game.
The Jaguars made 10 out of 35 three-point shots. Austin Berge led the Jaguars with a career-high 25 points with 5 made three-pointers. Taylor Pieper added 22 points.
Here's a video of the video stream...featuring action in the final minute of regulation play at Kimball:
The boys' basketball team improves to 11-10 overall and 6-5 in the Central Minnesota Conference with their 3rd straight win. The Cubs fall to 5-17 overall and 3-8 in the CMC. Kimball had just snapped a 6-game losing streak last night when they beat visiting Eden Valley-Watkins in a border battle by an 86-62 score.
Royalton had a big game with first-place Paynesville tonight. No word yet on that outcome. The Royals are another CMC team that is gunning for third place.
In the girls' basketball game...
Down by a wide 39-11 margin at halftime, theB-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team played a much better second half and cut a 28-point deficit down to 16 points early in the second half. In the first 90 seconds of the second half, Tiffany Dingmann cashed two three-pointers to cut the score to 41-20.
The No. 6-ranked Bluejays won 67-42 while ending B-B-E's winning streak at 3 games. A season-low 10 percent mark on field goals in the first half spelled doom for the Jaguars, who fall to 17-6 overall. They look for a big rebound with 3 additional home games next week. Next: a non-conference game is on the docket for next Tuesday, February 17 against MACCRAY (17-7).
Against CMC-Prinsburg, the Jaguars were led by their two seniors: 14 points from Kacey Fischer and 12 points from Tiffany Dingmann. For the game, the Jaguars were 5-of-20 on three-pointers while going 14-for-65 (21 percent) overall on field goals.
Here's a video recorded in the second half tonight:
CMC-Prinsburg improves to 21-2 overall; they entered tonight's game with an offensive average of 74.2 points per contest. Their defensive average is 43 points per game.
I need another break! It's time to take a load off and relax at the bar at Lucky Shots in Brooten!
Saturday morning update...
Eden Valley-Watkins beat A-C-GC 66-64 to remain in a tie for third place with our boys' basketball team in the CMC. Both squads are 6-5 in the standings. Paynesville Area remains in first place alone after they beat Royalton 57-43 on Friday night.
**Here's a video from Friday's Pep Fest...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: SnoDazePepFest2026
Here's a video featuring the end of the JV game tonight against CMC-Prinsburg:
In wrestling news...
In the Section 5A quarterfinals on Thursday, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team lost 65-10 to see their season come to a close with a record of 2-18. Canby was then thrashed by Paynesville 42-20 in the semifinals on Saturday. Paynesville was then hammered by Minneota 47-17 in the Section 5A championship to advance to state. To get to the section finals, Minneota beat BOLD 63-6 in the quarterfinals before beating Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 46-17 in the semifinals.
In college basketball news...
I just learned terrific news about two Class of 2023 graduates...Abby Berge's team at Minnesota State University-Moorhead won 76-69 in overtime last night against the University of Mary. She had 18 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Dragons with one of her four three-pointers coming early in the overtime period. In a game held tonight at Dickinson State University, Tiyana Schwinghammer's Valley City State University Vikings team earned a 78-64 Frontier Conference win. Schwinghammer had a double double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. Her Vikings team is currently in the capitol city of North Dakota, Bismark, where they play tomorrow in another big conference game with tip-off at 5 p.m.
Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball scores on February 13:
Paynesville 57, Royalton 43
Eden Valley-Watkins 66, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 64
Area boys' basketball scores on February 13:
Upsala 77, Osakis 76 (overtime at Osakis in the Prairie Conference)
Montevideo 71, Sauk Centre 53
New London-Spicer 63, Litchfield 57
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 79, Kindred (N.D.) 66
Ortonville 58, MACCRAY 54
Hancock 94, Ashby 59
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 69, Border West 50
Brandon-Evansville 66, Battle Lake 50
Underwood 65, Parkers Prairie 53
Central MN Christian 68, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 59 (the Bluejays are 22-1 overall)
Minneota 72, Lakeview 65
Area girls' basketball scores on February 13:
BOLD 74, West Central Area 52
Maple Lake 45, Mille Lacs 21
Pequot Lakes 65, Albany 46
Paynesville Area 63, Browerville 25
New London-Spicer 82, New London-Spicer 40
Sauk Centre 70, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 46
St. Cloud Cathedral 58, Kimball Area 56
Holdingford 68, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 53 (a Central MN Conference make up game)
Braham 59, Hinckley-Finlayson 14
Mayer Lutheran 58, Minneota 36
MACCRAY 90, Montevideo 34
The girls' basketball team is hosting Central Minnesota Christian of Prinsburg in a non-conference game tonight. The Bluejays are 20-2 overall (last I checked) and also were ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 1A Minnesota Basketball News state rankings.
Evening updates...
The JV Jaguars won the girls' basketball game by a 55-46 score. With 3:30 to go, the Bluejays had cut a large deficit down to 49-46.
In the varsity game, the Bluejays hold a 39-11 halftime lead.
At Kimball, the boys' basketball team is ahead 48-40 with 12:45 left.
Varsity basketball teams sweep conference opponents (VIDEO)
Both teams won tonight in varsity conference action. In Paynesville, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team maintained their position on top of the Central Minnesota Conference with a 58-31 win over the Bulldogs. The Jaguars shot an abysmal 19 percent on field goals in the first half while holding a 21-14 lead at the break.
Next for the girls' basketball team is a home game against Central Minnesota Christian (20-2) of Prinsburg this Friday. They host a second straight Camden North Conference team with MACCRAY (15-7) coming to Belgrade next Tuesday, February 17.
In boys' basketball action...
On the home court, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team played a terrific second half against Eden Valley-Watkins while claiming a 75-60 win. This squares their record in the CMC at 5-5, and overall, they improve to 10-10. Next for the boys' basketball team is a big road game at Kimball Area on Friday, February 13.
Against EV-W, senior Owen Roering powered the offense with 24 points on a school-record eight three-point shots. He had 6 made threes by halftime. Also having a career night was freshman Hudson Reed, who had 21 points. Of Reed's scoring total, 15 points came in the second half. At halftime, B-B-E led 36-25.
Here's a video recorded in the second half tonight:
The Eagles fall to 7-12 overall and 5-4 in the CMC. The winter weather has wreaked havoc on their schedule as well; they have yet to play neighboring Kimball in the CMC series.
We have home cooking tonight with the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosting Eden Valley-Watkins. The Jaguars are trying to avenge a loss in the conference opener in early January. At stake is a shot for third place in the Central Minnesota Conference. A loss would make a third-place finish highly unlikely.
At halftime in Paynesville, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled through a ragged first half but holds a 21-14 lead at the break.
In the boys game...
The Jaguars are ahead 36-25 at halftime over Eden Valley-Watkins. *More to come in a NEW blog post.
Sno-Daze is being held at B-B-E schools this week for the 36th time in school history. The senior royalty candidates were featured on page 5 in the February 5 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. You can read more at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website by clicking here: BBESnoDazeWeek.
In the attached video in that web article, you can watch footage from Sno-Daze coronation in February 2015.
And now it's late Tuesday morning...
The 36th B-B-E Sno-Daze King and Queen are seniors Aiden Radermacher and Annie Schmidt. Video is uploading.
Here you can see the coronation crowning take place...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBESnoDazeCoronation.
**The girls' basketball team is at Paynesville on Tuesday night. The varsity team tips off at 5:30 p.m.
I'm blogging on this sunny, mild afternoon from the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougar Sports Center. I made the trip with my youngest daughter for pitching and hitting camps hosted by the UM-Morris Cougars fastpitch softball team. Last Sunday, I visited with B-B-E head fastpitch coach Logan Funk about the UMM softball clinics, and he reported that a few high school-age Jaguars were at the February 1 camps. The Cougars head coach, Heather Pennie-Roy, is a Villard high school graduate who pitched for the Waska Warriors, which was a pairing of students from Villard and Glenwood high schools. That pairing was joined with Starbuck school in 1991 to form what we know today as Minnewaska Area. In 9th and 10th grade, she pitched for the Osakis-Villard softball team after the program was founded in 1986. With her Villard high school diploma, Pennie-Roy headed west to UMM and had a record-making four-year career with the Cougars team. Her name still appears on the UMM school records. To this day, she holds the lowest ERA record (2.97) during her career from 1991-1994. She also ranks second for lowest batting average allowed (.272) in a career. Her career total of 298 innings pitched stood as the UMM record until 2009. There's your history lesson for the day!
It has been 37 years since the B-B-E Jaguars won a fastpitch softball conference title. The only team to earn such a feat was the very first Jaguar team, the 1989 squad, which was coached by head coach Jerry Lindstrom and assistant coach Bud Heidgerken. While I can't predict the future, getting my daughter experience that improves her pitching skills is our small part in the program's quest to earn conference and playoff hardware. The last playoff hardware was earned a full 18 years ago in 2008.
My daughter was excited to be joined in Morris today by her Bible Camp friend from New London-Spicer, whose mom is Krista (Lundgren) Lautenschlager. Their family has a farm in Colfax Township, and Krista was a 2005 graduate of B-B-E high school.
It took over an hour of being here before I recalled the main thing my daughter learned at the UMM pitching camp a year ago (March 2) where she was told "Squish a bug" during her hitting steps.
In volleyball news...
I haven't had a chance to catch up to this until now, and I still don't have time to give it proper writing...last week I learned that head volleyball coach Brittany Borgerding, a 2013 B-B-E graduate, has resigned her position. Also stepping away from the program is C-squad coach Branton Jones, a 2023 graduate. The Borgerding resignation was family-related, and Jones resigned in order to further his post-graduate education. Even in their "retirement" from the coaching staff, we wish them all the best and hold them both in our prayers.
In wrestling news...
Congratulations to B-B-E sophomore Elizabeth Rademacher, who is advancing to the girls' state wrestling tournament after she won the 130-pound Section 5A championship on Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville high school. In the championship match, Rademacher won by fall (2:41) against Morgan Mielke of St. Michael-Albertville. It's worth noting that in girls' wrestling, the playoffs are in a one-class format.
And in other news...
The Brooten city council meets in regular session on Monday night, February 9. (As does the school board.) The Brooten council agenda is posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice editor's blog: BrootenCouncilAgenda.
A great deal of Valentine's Day related advertising was in last week's newspaper, and more is coming in this week's issue. Here's the Brink's Beer Joint special for Saturday in Swift Falls: Brink's Valentines Special, including 8 oz. lobster tail $31.99 served with would rice and green beans; Prime Rib Queen $25.99 and Prime Rib King $28.99, both served with choice of potato and green beans or salad.
And yet more business news...this is breaking news as of today! Today, it was announced by local business owner Ashley Zimmerle that Earthy Elements, LLC, her local flower, plant and rock shop, is moving from Brooten to the Boosters building on the north end of Main Street Belgrade. Boosters owner Becky Mueller has space available for Ashley, and I believe it is going to be a truly tremendous partnership!
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team shook off a tough three-game losing streak with a very satisfying 45-41 win at Browerville today. A late steal in the closing seconds by Hudson Reed iced the win. The girls' basketball team also recorded a win over Browerville's varsity squad; the final score was 65-34.
It's time to head to the Belgrade VFW Auxiliary steak and pork chop fry and then the open gym session at the high school.
In the boys' basketball game, the Jaguars were led by Taylor Pieper's 11 points. Next were Aiden Radermacher and Owen Roering, who had 9 points each. Free throw shooting proved to loom large in the outcome: Browerville was 1-for-3 in the game, while the Jaguars made 5 out of 9 shots at the charity stripe. The win raises their record to 9-10 overall; next is a home game on Tuesday against Eden Valley-Watkins.
In the Section 2A hockey playoffs today, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss to Minnesota River at the Le Seuer Ice Arena. They finish the season 14-11-1 overall. Minnesota River (21-5-1) advances to the 2A finals to face top-seeded Mankato East. The Cougars (23-2-1) erased Hutchinson from the playoffs with a 5-1 win in the other semifinal game held today.
And now it's Sunday afternoon...the last 24 hours were a blur. I'll get a new blog post up with some notes from the Browerville games.
Clutch performance by Jaguars in final minutes brings epic come-from-behind win (VIDEOS)
Inside 8 minutes to go, shots were not dropping as a cold shooting spell was plaguing the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball teamin a battle of two of the three contenders for the Central Minnesota Conference title. With Royalton in town, it was all-out war that was tipping in favor of the Royals, who led 47-38 with 7:40 to go. A 7-0 scoring run followed that put them back in the game, and the Jaguars utilized lights-out defense and tenacious rebounding that limited Royalton to just 6 points in the last 5 minutes of the game.
FINAL:B-B-E 56, Royalton 53. The Jaguars are 15-5 overall and 10-1 in the CMC; the Royals (13-7 overall) are 9-2 and one game out of first place as their red hot 9-game winning streak crashed to an end.
In the first half...
The Royals took a 24-22 lead with 2:09 to go on a three-point play by Chloe Reedy. With 1:22 left, Teagan Dingmann knocked down a corner three-pointer for a 25-24 lead. Haylie Wolbeck banked an outside shot with around 20 seconds left that gave Royalton a 26-25 halftime lead.
Here's a video featuring action in the last minute before halftime:
At halftime, Teagan Dingmann led the Jaguars with 12 points. Reedy was the top scorer for Royalton at the break with 18 points.
Here's a video featuring the game turning in favor of B-B-E:
The video begins with the Jaguars bringing the ball into play from the sideline with just over 80 seconds to go. The Royals led 53-49 at that point. With 1:16 left, Kacey Fischer drained two free throws for a 53-51 deficit. With 33 seconds left, Tiffany Dingmann cashed a three-pointer on the left wing for the final lead change of the night. In the video, her three-pointer comes at about the 1:14 mark.
Holdingford has moved into fourth place alone in the CMC with a giant 51-44 upset win at Kimball tonight. This pulls the Cubs out of first place as they fall to 8-2 in the CMC.
For the game, the Jaguars shot 32 percent on field goals while Teagan Dingmann led the scoring with 20 points. Kacey Fischer had a career night with 15 points and 17 rebounds, including 10 defensive boards that were crucial in the comeback win. Also key to the win was fine 7-of-9 free throw shooting in the second half. Kacey Fischer was 9-of-13 at the line for the game. Mya Worms also had a terrific game with 8 points and 7 rebounds.
On Saturday...
The Pirouettes will compete at the Section 2A dance championships at New London-Spicer high school. The National Anthem will be performed at 10:55 a.m., and the competition begins at 11 a.m. For admission, you have to purchase tickets in advance online: https://www.gobound.com/mn/mshl/regions/5a/tickets.
Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 6:
Maple Lake 54, Eden Valley-Watkins 48
Holdingford 51, Kimball Area 44
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 48, Paynesville 41
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is hosting Royalton tonight. The JV and C-squad games are set to begin at 5:30 p.m.
The JV team defeated the Royals 43-28, and the C-squad also recorded a double-digit win.
**With 7:22 left in the first half, the game is tied 12-all.
HALFTIME: Royalton 26, B-B-E 25. The Royals scored a go-ahead basket in the final 30 seconds, and they missed a buzzer-beating attempt to give us the one-point game at the break. Earlier in the half, the Jaguars trailed 17-13 with 5:40 left on a Chloe Reedy layup.
UPDATE: with 10:18 left in the game, the Royals have a 40-33 lead.
Conference leaders finish sweep of the Jaguars, Stars advance in 2A playoffs
The Paynesville Area Bulldogs remained undefeated in the Central Minnesota Conference with a 75-50 win tonight over our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team. The Bulldogs (11-8, 9-0) held a 43-25 lead at halftime after canning seven three-pointers by the break. They've now won 6 straight games.
The Jaguars fall to 8-10 overall and 4-5 in the CMC for fifth place alone; they have a huge game on Saturday at Browerville (varsity at about 3:30 p.m.). The Tigers are currently 7-9 overall and ranked No. 4 in Sub-Section 5A-West.
Here's a video featuring the Pep Band performing plus the player introductions:
Some light game statistics:
The Bulldogs had 7 made threes in the first half out of 13 attempts. They shot 47 percent on field goals for the game and went 10-of-24 on three-pointers. Austin Berge led the Jaguars with 14 points plus 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The Stars, now 14-10-1 overall, scored one goal in each period.
In the CMC, the Jaguars likely will have to win out to take third place. The current team in third place, Eden Valley-Watkins, will likely finish the season with an 8-6 CMC record. This means that the Jaguars have to beat EV-W next Tuesday (February 10) at home in order to have a shot at taking third place.
More to come. No word yet on the River Lakes girls' hockey team, who hosted a Section 2A quarterfinal game tonight in Richmond.
In girls' hockey playoff news...
The River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team is advancing to the Final Four of the Section 2A tournament. The Stars defeated neighboring Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato tonight 3-1 in the quarterfinal round. B-B-E sophomore goalie Lillian Thompson faced 15 shots on goal and had 14 saves.
Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 5:
Maple Lake 60, Kimball Area 57
Holdingford 78, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 42
Eden Valley-Watkins 75, Royalton 60
Area boys' basketball scores on February 5:
Minnewaska Area 68, Perham 56
Upsala 60, Parkers Prairie 54
Melrose 69, BOLD 42
Lac qui Parle Valley 70, Lakeview 56
Albany 80, Foley 41
Underwood 72, Ashby 41
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 95, Rothsay 70
Breckenridge 81, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 62
GAME NIGHT! Border Battle and Pep Band in the house!
No time to rest...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is hosting Paynesville Area tonight in a border battle and their second straight contest facing the Bulldogs. The two teams met on Monday night in Paynesville, and the Bulldogs overcame a 24-23 halftime deficit to win 60-50 and stay on top of the Central Minnesota Conference.
I have to get my electronics and my trumpet over to the school now...the B-B-E Pep Band begins performing at 6:30 p.m.! Also! The game is being aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Brady's coverage is also streamed at their website: https://www.kmgk1071.com.
Here's a video with Aiden Mueller winning one week ago tonight against A-C-GC:
The wrestling team will be back in action tomorrow night in a triangular at Holdingford.
HALFTIME: Paynesville Area 43, B-B-E 25. The Bulldogs used 7 threes to pull away from the Jaguars late in the half.
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team holds a 24-23 lead at halftime tonight in a Central Minnesota Conference game at Paynesville. Update: with 90 seconds left in the game, the Bulldogs have a 57-47 lead.
Final score: Paynesville Area 60, B-B-E 50. The Jaguars turned in a giant effort, but they were one-and-done too many times in the latter part of the second half to maintain pace with the home team, who entered the contest averaging 70 points per game. The Bulldogs made numerous well-guarded shots both in the paint and beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs (9-8, 7-0) remain in a tie for first place with Holdingford, while the Jaguars slip below .500 to 8-9 overall (4-4 in the CMC for 5th place). Holdingford, winners of 8 in a row, is currently 13-3 overall and 7-0 in the CMC.
This blog will not be updated again until Wednesday, February 4 after the newspaper is printed in Lowry.
Area boys' basketball scores on February 2:
Benson 74, Swanville 55
Breckenridge 64, West Central Area 55
Melrose Area 61, Minnewaska Area 50
Upsala 81, Kimball Area 60
Osakis 81, Royalton 64
Underwood 82, Ashby 59
Girls' hockey edges Otters, earn No. 3 playoff seed
At Richmond this past Thursday night, the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey teamdefeated Fergus Falls 5-4 to improve to 13-10-1 overall as the regular season concludes. The win also avenges their tough 4-3 loss at Fergus Falls on December 16.
River Lakes has won 6 of their last 8 contests, and they finish the Central Lakes Conference schedule in fourth place with a 6-5 record.
In the seven-team Section 2A, the Stars hover in the middle of the pack. Mankato East (22-2-1) is the probable No. 1 seed. Whoever nabs the top seed will earn a quarterfinal-round bye.
Update: the Stars have earned the No. 3 seed in Section 2A. They host a playoff game on Thursday, February 5 at 7 p.m. in Richmond. More to follow.
Coming on Monday...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hopes to take a bite out of the Bulldogs on Monday night when they travel to Paynesville Area for a Central Minnesota Conference game. The varsity game should begin at about 7 p.m.
As it stands, we have a rare Tuesday this week where we have no varsity activities.
