Step II: Jaguars shake Saturday jinx, advance to the 'Ship! Jensen finishes with state silver medal

A terrific second half performance, fueled by outstanding defense in the final 10 minutes of the game, lifted the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team to a 51-39 playoff win against the Prairie Conference champion Swanville Bulldogs. The Jaguars displayed lights-out defense across the final 10 minutes of the game, during which the Bulldogs scored just 6 points.

NEXT: the Jaguars (20-8) head to the Sub-Section 5A-East championship game, which is on Tuesday, March 3 at Foley high school. The opponent will be state-ranked Braham. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. Braham is 22-6 overall after defeating Upsala 67-39 in the other semifinal today in Foley. The Cardinals finished 11-17 overall.

Last season, Braham went 23-6 and lost 61-59 in overtime to Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in the Section 5A championship. Two seasons ago, W-H-A defeated Braham 67-63 in the Section 5A finals.

Here's the start of today's game in Foley:


AS FOR STATE WRESTLING...Noah Jensen's title match should start at about 3:30 p.m. today. He is on Mat 1. **Update: Noah lost a 6-1 decision in the championship match to Kenyon-Wanamingo sophomore Liam Sommer (48-1). Jensen finishes one of the best-ever freshman wrestling seasons at B-B-E high school with a 45-4 final record. He was an outstanding 3-1 at state with a silver medal after he earned a bronze state medal (3rd place) as an eighth grader.

In the 114 championship today, Jensen fell behind 1-0 in the second period. He got an escape to tie it 1-1 in the third period. With a little over 40 seconds left in the third, Sommer got a takedown to go up 4-1. A late two-point near fall was also earned by Sommer for a final score of 6-1.

Don't forget that the Belgrade Lions chili cook-off contest is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. tonight at the Belgrade VFW. It's just $5 for any member of the public to be able to participate. Please do your part to suppor this event. You can read more details at the Bonanza Valley Voice website: BelgradeLionsChili2026.

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on February 28:
Foley 56, Albany 47
Sauk Centre 58, Kimball Area 40 (Cubs finish a fine season 20-8 overall)
Milaca 51, Royalton 47 (Royals finish 17-11 overall)
Pine River-Backus 70, Bertha-Hewitt 54
Cass Lake-Bena 52, Sebeka 45
Willmar 56, Fergus Falls 53 OT
Rothsay 58, West Central Area 56 (the Cardinals avenge two Central Lakes Conference losses this season with this Section 8AAA playoff win at Fergus Falls)
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 80, Hancock 44


I've gotten more updated galleries included in the 2025-2026 winter sports folder: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Winter-Sports-25-26.

Championship wrestling, basketball consuming the afternoon (*UPDATES)

A big day is underway! The championship wrestling session begins at 1 p.m. in Saint Paul. I just finished up with my daughter's basketball games at Cold Spring. It's time to head east. I'm thrilled to report that the B-B-E 6th grade Class of 2032 girls' basketball Jaguars went 2-0 today at Rocori high school. They defeated Kimball 23-10 and then K-M-S 17-4. This concludes their 2025-2026 Highway 55 league season.

At Foley, top-seeded Braham is taking apart Upsala in the first semifinal game. With 2:23 left, the Bombers hold a 64-35 lead. Smooth Magic 107.1 FM will carry today's girls' basketball game against Swanville. Please spread the word! Smooth Magic streams online at https://www.kmgk1071.com. The pregame music at Foley is terrific! REO Speedwagon is on the loudspeakers with 8 minutes to go before the 20-minute timer ends.

As of 1:30 p.m., Noah Jensen is not in the wrestling queue. I'll follow that up until the tip-off of the basketball game in Foley. Tip-off for the Sub-Section 5A-East semifinals between our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team and the Swanville Bulldogs should take place at about 1:47 p.m.

HALFTIME in Foley: No. 3-seeded Swanville 21, No. 2-seeded B-B-E 16. The Jaguars were playing with mild foul trouble and utilized their depth to push through without any players getting their third personal foul. Nightmarish shooting from the floor has been the biggest obstacle to overcome this afternoon. Also hurting is free throw shooting of just 5-of-10 at the line. Leading the way for the Jaguars is Teagan Dingmann with 8 points. She's followed by 5 points from Macey Roering and 3 by Mya Worms. Swanville's Addison Hudalla leads the Bulldogs with 14 points.

The Jaguars led 16-11 but went stone cold from the floor. With 1:19 left, a free throw by Swanville lifted them in front 17-16.

The second half should start at about 2:31 p.m.

UPDATE in the second half: the Bulldogs hold a 33-28 lead with 10:43 to go after Addison Hudalla scored on the right block. MORE TO COME in a NEW blog post.

GOOD TIMES! Jensen heading to the 'Ship! Boys' hoops thrash Arrows (VIDEOS)

Don't look now! B-B-E freshman Noah Jensen is championship bound! He wrestled a marvelous match, he was outstanding, in tonight's Class 1A 114-pound state semifinal at Grand Casino Arena. Jensen has been ranked No. 2 in The Guillotine polls all season, and today he lived up to that by defeating Pelican Rapids senior Danny Salazar by a 4-1 decision in a sudden victory overtime period.

For Jensen, he now heads to the medals round at state, which starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday. In the championship, Jensen faces top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Liam Sommer, a sophomore from Kenyon-Wanamingo with a 47-1 record. It will be a match that the wrestling scene has been looking forward to all season.

Here's a video featuring Noah winning in his state opener on Thursday:


He's now guaranteed first or second place in his third overall state tournament. As a seventh grader, he wrestled at 107 pounds for the Jaguars when they took third place as a team in 2024.

In basketball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team takes a 14-11 record into the Section 6A playoffs after defeating Ashby 81-50 tonight on the home court. It was the final home game for five seniors: Cameron Loe, Jesse Niklaus, Owen Roering, Taylor Pieper and Aiden Radermacher.

The Jaguars shot 47 percent from the floor while making 8 of 30 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Jaguars made 7 out of 8 shots. Leading the way was Taylor Pieper with 27 points, and Hudson Reed had 15 points. Aiden Radermacher also had a fine game with 13 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.

Here's a video from the middle of the second half tonight:


In Section 6A, it appears the Jaguars will not be included in the play-in round, which will be on Monday next week. The Jaguars are currently ranked No. 9 out of 22 teams, and this lands them a spot in the section quarterfinals. The Section 6A quarterfinal round will be next Thursday, March 5.

The Jaguars took third place alone in the Central Minnesota Conference with a 7-6 record. Royalton and Eden Valley-Watkins each tied for fourth place with 7-7 records. In first place, we had a tie this season for the CMC title, as Holdingford and Paynesville Area each went 13-1 while splitting the series against one another. To close out the regular season, Holdingford defeated Kimball Area 100-85 tonight at Kimball.

Area boys' basketball scores on February 27:
Melrose Area 58, Sauk Centre 49 (the Dutchmen clinch third place in the West Central Conference and completed the series sweep against the neighboring rival Mainstreeters)
Parkers Prairie 66, Bertha-Hewitt 49
Montevideo 72, Redwood Valley 42
West Central Area 63, Border West 53
St. Cloud Apollo 68, Willmar 66

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on February 27:
New London-Spicer 60, Paynesville Area 55
Litchfield 74, Eden Valley-Watkins 57
Minnewaska Area 61, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 54

State wrestling Day II (UPDATES*)

Noah Jensen won his state quarterfinal match today at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul.  He wrestles again later in the semifinals. In his match this morning, Jensen won by fall (2:34).

In the 114 semis, Jensen faces senior Danny Salazar of Pelican Rapids. That session begins at 4 p.m. today. As for when Jensen's semifinal match will take place, I have no idea. The sessions start with Class 3A wrestlers, and they're followed by the Class 2A field and then Class 1A.

Friday afternoon updates...
Elizabeth Rademacher is wrestling this afternoon in the 130-pound wrestlebacks. Rademacher's opponent is St. Croix Lutheran senior Amelia Converse (14-5). As of 2 p.m., her match hasn't started yet. The match will take place on Mat 7. As of 3 p.m., it has not taken place, but Rademacher is in the queue.

UPDATE on Friday afternoon:
In a crushing loss, Elizabeth Rademacher lost a 2-1 decision in the third tiebreaker to see her season close out at the state tournament. She finishes a terrific sophomore season with a 33-12 record.

Here's how Rademacher's state match played out...
With 1:37 left, Rademacher earned an escape to take a 1-0 lead. Early in the third period, with 1:51 left, Converse got an escape to tie it at 1-1.

Two choice tiebreakers went by without any scoring. In the next tiebreaker, Converse got an escape with 6 seconds to go to claim the 2-1 win.

ONCE again...a friendly reminder! The B-B-E Knights of Columbus will host their first Lenten season fish fry tonight, Friday, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the KaDe Shack. This is an all-you-can eat meal! Please spread the word and come out and support a great organization. Our communities would not be what they are today without our local civic groups. They need your support.

COMING tomorrow...
The Belgrade Lions chili cook-off is tomorrow. You can read all those details here: LionsChiliContest2024. This event is in support of the B-B-E Area Food Shelf. Please, please! I am talking until I'm blue in the face...come out and show your support for our local groups like the K of Cs and the Lions.

Friday evening update...as of 5:30 p.m., Jensen's semifinal match hasn't taken place.

**Update: Noah Jensen is heading to the championship match! He won a 4-1 sudden victory overtime decision in the semifinals. 

At halftime in Brooten, the boys' basketball team is ahead 40-25 over Ashby.

MORE to come in a new blog post.

Step I: Girls' basketball Jaguars overwhelm Raiders (VIDEO)

Displaying a surprising level of athleticism for a 7th-seeded team, the Mille Lacs Raiders hit some outside shots for a competitive first half. The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team responded by running the floor and building a 38-23 halftime lead. Stifling second-half defense by the Jaguars propelled them to a 68-39 playoff-opening win.

Mille Lacs, who competes in the Great River Conference, finished 7-20 overall.

Here's a video recorded in the first half tonight:


Next: the Jaguars (19-8) travel to Foley high school on Saturday, February 28 for the Sub-Section 6A-East semifinals. Tip-off at Foley is at about 1:45 p.m. B-B-E's opponent will be No. 3-seeded Swanville. I'm currently combing my newspapers to find Swanville statistics from their recent games.

In their playoff opener tonight, Swanville (15-11) defeated visiting East Central 68-53. The Bulldogs won the Prairie Conference title with a 9-1 record. Back on February 17, Swanville defeated Mille Lacs 62-28. Across most of January and into early February, Swanville had an 11-game winning streak going. That was upended by Melrose, who beat Swanville 56-35 on February 9.

Swanville's leading scorer is 6'1" sophomore Addison Hudalla. Through 25 regular season games, Hudalla averaged 19.6 points per game and 15.8 rebounds per game.

TOMORROW: the B-B-E Knights of Columbus will host their first Lenten season fish fry on Friday night from 5 to 8 p.m. at the KaDe Shack in Brooten. Please come out and show your support!

In games played in Sub-Section 5A-West tonight: Sebeka upset last year's Section 5A champion, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, with a 45-43 win over the Wolves in tonight's quarterfinal round. Sebeka has a 6-17 overall record.

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on February 26:
Braham 63, Hinckley-Finlayson 23
Upsala 65, Ogilvie 59
Bertha-Hewitt 67, Nevis 38
Pine City 60, Melrose Area 56
BOLD 74, Springfield 27
Albany 71, Milaca 42
Foley 80, Spectrum 42
Legacy Christian 75, Holdingford 64
Royalton 60, St. Cloud Cathedral 56 (the Royals are 17-10 overall; this win at Cathedral high school avenges their 78-68 loss in the season opener to St. Cloud Cathedral)
Milaca 71, Maple Lake 36
Kimball Area 84, PACT Charter 70
Sauk Centre 59, Osakis 22
West Central Area 65, Benson 27
Hancock 79, Parkers Prairie 72
Cass Lake-Bena 65, Browerville 50
Willmar 67, St. Cloud Crush 42
Pine River-Backus 79, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 40

GAME NIGHT! Girls' basketball playoff opener

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. tonight at the B-B-E high school. The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is hosting No. 7-seeded Mille Lacs in the Sub-Section 5A-East quarterfinals. Mille Lacs high school is in Onamia in eastern Minnesota.

The Jaguars are 18-8 overall, and the Raiders are 7-19 overall. Mille Lacs struggles on offense and averages just 39.6 points per game. In the Great River Conference, Mille Lacs went 2-11.

HALFTIME: B-B-E 38, Mille Lacs 23.

The final score and more will be posted in a new blog post after 9 p.m.

State wrestling is underway! (UPDATES, VIDEO*)

Noah Jensen outside the competition floor at Grand Casina Arena in St. Paul this morning.

Shortly after 11 a.m. today, the Class 2A individual matches are near the middle weights at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul.

For B-B-E freshman Noah Jensen, he is about to begin the third Class 1A state wrestling tournament of his career. For the second straight year, Jensen will compete in the individual tournament. Last season, Jensen placed 3rd at the 107-pound bracket. This season, he has been in the No. 2 spot in the Top 10 of 114 pounds this whole season in The Guillotine rankings. Currently, the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 114 is sophomore Liam Sommer of Kenyon-Wanamingo. Sommer is the top seed in the bracket and has a 44-1 overall record.

In Jensen's state bracket this year, he is first paired for the opening match with eighth grader Rylan Moritz (32-8) of Aitkin. Jensen has a 42-3 overall record as the Section 5A champion. I'm guessing shortly after 12 p.m., he'll be preparing to take the mat for the Round of 16

In the girls' wrestling tournament...
B-B-E sophomore Elizabeth Rademacher is competing today in the state girls' individual tournament. Rademacher is having a tremendous sophomore season and takes a 33-10 record into her first state tournament. He is paired against the No. 2-ranked wrestler, senior Lauren Elsmore of Pine Island. Elsmore is 32-5 overall.

While you're in the mood to read, you can also take in a video clip from West Lake Johanna Lutheran church. Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website for more: WestLakeJohannaChurch.

**STATE UPDATE: Noah Jensen won by a 17-1 tech fall early in the 3rd period in his state opener! Jensen will face a sophomore from Goodhue in his semifinal match, which takes place tomorrow. The Goodhue wrestler won by fall in his opener.

Here's a video from the first period of Noah's match:

In other lower-weight state matches, two upset losses occurred with neighboring wrestlers. Benson's Max Nygaard lost a tough 9-5 decision at 139 to a fellow senior from Jackson County Central. Also, Paynesville's Jamison Meagher, the No. 2 seed at 121, lost his state opener by a 6-3 decision to a fellow sophomore from Westfield.

In the girls' division, Rademacher we'll be wrestling in her state opener sometime after 2 p.m.

**Update: Rademacher lost by fall late in the second period. Her opponent from Pine Island was a state champion last year. Rademacher wrestled very well, and the score after the first period was 3-0.

What's coming tomorrow...

Both Jensen and Rademacher will wrestle tomorrow at Grand Casino Arena during the 9 a.m. round of action. Those matches begin with Class 3A male athletes, and then it goes to Class 2A and Class 1A. The girls' wrestlers follow the Class 1A boys. Both the state quarterfinals and wrestlebacks take place at the 9 a.m. session. 

Jensen will be in the 114-pound state quarterfinals. His opponent from Goodhue is sophomore Arlyn von Knobelsdorf, who holds a record of 23-4 and is ranked No. 6 in The Guillotine Top 10 polls.

Rademacher will be in the win-or-go-home wrestlebacks. Her opponent will be senior Amelia Converse of St. Croix Lutheran, who has a 14-5 record this season.

The individual state semifinals plus additional rounds of wrestleback matches take place on Friday night.

After supper, it's time to shift gears to basketball!

State wrestling is tomorrow

The Class 1A state individual wrestling tournament begins at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul. Two members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team will compete. In the girls' division, sophomore Elizabeth Rademacher competes in her first state tournament in the 130-pound bracket. She has the tough draw of facing the No. 2 seed in the field, which is a one-class format. For the boys' tournament, which has 3 classes, B-B-E freshman Noah Jensen will compete in Class 1A in his third overall state tournament. As a seventh grader, Jensen wrestled at 107 pounds for B-B-E's 3rd place finisher in 2024. Last season, Jensen wrestled in the individual tournament and placed 3rd at 107.

In college basketball news...
The University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars men's basketball team is heading to a National qualifier after they defeated visiting Crown College 85-79 tonight in Morris. The game was a semifinal in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) playoffs. With a berth in the UMAC championship, the Cougars have a chance to advance to the Division III National Tournament. Against Crown College tonight, B-B-E's Kaden Pieper scored 20 points after being held to just 4 points in the first half. For periods of the second half, Pieper put the team on his back while the team's leading scorer, Carvin Fish, was attracting the teeth of Crown's defense. UMM overcame a 43-33 halftime deficit to improve to 14-13 overall. Fish finished the game with a career-high 42 points.

With under 16 minutes left in the game, Crown expanded their lead to 52-38. With 7 minutes to go, the deficit shrank to 66-64. Finally, with 3:27 to go, Pieper drained a step-back three-pointer with only 4 seconds on the shot clock to lift the Cougars on top 73-71.

Pieper, a 2023 B-B-E graduate, shot 53 percent on field goals to go with 7 rebounds, 3 assist and 2 blocked shots.

Other information is forthcoming.

**Thursday update: Noah Jensen should be on the mat between 11:30 and noon. By 10:30, the Class 3A individual matches are wrapping up. **A NEW blog post will feature state wrestling updates.

Very serious Highway 55/Highway 71 accident east of Belgrade (VIDEO, UPDATES)

The icy roads appear to be a major factor in a serious accident between a flat-nosed Cintas uniform truck and a semi tractor and trailer east of Belgrade. The accident took place shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, February 24. For approximately a half hour leading up to the accident, rain fell across the area while ambient temperatures hovered around 23-24 degrees.

Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website to see video from the accident scene and read additional details: Highway71Belgradeaccident.

The roads are awful right now! Not to mention sidewalks plus in-town streets and intersections. Please travel lightly. Your odds of being in an accident are considerably higher than normal right now at 9 a.m.

Here's a second video recorded at the accident scene this morning:


Please pray for the safety of our emergency responders.

BREAKING news on Tuesday afternoon: the game against A-C-GC tonight has been cancelled. This is due to an error on A-C-GC's part with their regular season schedule. That's what I know. The game will not be made up. So please spread the word: there's no home game tonight in Brooten. It's now an "off" night.

Jaguars take down 20-win Braves team (VIDEOS, updated Tuesday*)

This blog post has been updated twice on Tuesday...

In a game with multiple lead changes and multiple runs where each team scored in bunches, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team scored a giant upset win tonight on the home floor by defeating Benson 65-62. They played outstanding defense while holding the Braves 14 points below their scoring average.

At halftime, the Jaguars led 38-34. Benson used an 8-0 run to erase B-B-E's lead as the second half developed. Two three-pointers and a layup put Benson ahead 44-41 with 14:08 to go.

With 7 minutes to go in the game, Benson pulled in front 53-48 after their 6'7" senior post, Harold Habben, scored 3 straight shots in the paint. This all came after Hudson Reed scored in the lane with 11:40 left to put the Jaguars ahead 48-47. Trailing by 5 points, B-B-E then manufactured an incredible comeback starting with a three-pointer and then a shot under the basket for a tie score with 5:45 to go.

Benson falls to 20-4 overall, while the Jaguars are 13-11 going into tomorrow's home game against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The A-C-GC game is huge! The Jaguars (7-6 CMC) have to beat the Falcons in order to clinch part of third place in the CMC standings. Royalton is currently in a tie for third with the Jaguars; they play at Maple Lake on Tuesday to close out the CMC schedule.

BREAKING news on Tuesday afternoon: the game against A-C-GC has been cancelled. This is due to an error on A-C-GC's part with their regular season schedule. That's what I know. The game will not be made up. So please spread the word: there's no home game tonight in Brooten. It's an "off" night.

Here's video from the first half of tonight's game:


B-B-E finishes the regular season with a Section 6A game against Ashby in Brooten on Friday this week. The Arrows are 6-18 overall; they went 2-14 in the Little Eight Conference for 9th place.

And here's a video featuring action during the final minute of the game:


In the Section 6A standings, this win may not move them enough to make a difference on the QRF. The Jaguars are No. 10, while Hancock is No. 9 and West Central Area No. 8. In the No. 7 spot currently is Underwood (18-5). The Underwood Rockets appear solidly at No. 7, but it is possible they leap above Benson. This would move the Braves down to No. 7. For West Central Area, they are 9-14 overall with 2 games left: BOLD and Border West. I predict WCA wins out and remains at the No. 8 spot. Hancock could make some moves in the standings if they win at Underwood tonight in a Little Eight Conference game. In the first Hancock vs. Underwood meeting, which was back on February 12 in Hancock, the Rockets won 65-62.

Regardless of all the potential moves up and down for teams in the Section 6A standings, tonight's win is a huge confidence booster for a B-B-E team that has already been playing superb basketball as of late. B-B-E has just one loss this season to a Class 1A team (Hancock), and they've won 5 of their last 6 games. Winning out this week will set them up for a nice run during March Madness!

Section 6A boys' basketball update...Hancock clinched second place alone in the Little Eight Conference by defeating Underwood on Monday 82-71. This puts them at 13-3 in the Little Eight, while Underwood finishes the loop 11-5. The Rockets could have tied the Owls for second place with a win. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out in the section rankings!

UPDATE for the Central Minnesota Conference...on Monday, Holdingford earned a 70-61 win against Paynesville to pull into a virtual tie for first place with the Bulldogs. The Huskers hosted Paynesville in a key CMC game. The Bulldogs finished the loop with a 13-1 record, so they have at least a share of the title. Holdingford (19-6) has to win at Kimball on Friday this week in order to clinch a share of the title. If the Cubs beat the Huskers, Paynesville (15-11) would win the CMC outright.

Area boys' basketball scores on February 23:
Montevideo 70, Melrose Area 41
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 65, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 42
Central MN Christian 79, Renville County West 48
Browerville 68, Parkers Prairie 67
Brandon-Evansville 78, Border West 67
Canby 58, MACCRAY 55
Hancock 82, Underwood 71
Willmar 91, Detroit Lakes 76

This is game night!

Bring on the Benson Braves! The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is facing the Braves on the home floor in a big Section 6A match up. It's time to get over to the school. I'll update as I am able to at this blog post.

The Braves are currently the No. 6-ranked team in Section 6A with a record of 20-3 overall. The Braves have clinched at least a share of the Prairie Conference title with a 10-1 record and one game remaining. Benson is a high-octane unit with a 76 points per game scoring average. The Jaguars are in 10th place with a 12-11 overall record. In the last 4 games, B-B-E has averaged 72.7 points a contest.

Overall, Section 6A includes 22 teams.

While you're reading or watching from home, I invite you to take in Linda's Thought for the Day at the conclusion of worship at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church yesterday:


West Lake Johanna Lutheran and its Parish partner, Trinity of Brooten, employ Linda Summerlett, a SAMS with our ELCA Synod. The acronym SAMS stands for "Synod Authorized Minister" in the ELCA church heirarchy. We are extremely grateful for Linda's services as we seek a new full-time Lutheran pastor.

HALFTIME: B-B-E 38, Benson 34.

With 9 minutes left in the game, Benson has a 49-48 lead.

One more to state wrestling; girls' basketball earns No. 2 seed

At Canby high school today, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team had 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. Two additional freshmen, McCoy Detloff and Jace Mueller, each placed 5th.

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.

Sub-Section 5A-East girls' basketball seedings:
1. Braham (20-6)
2. B-B-E (18-8)
3. Swanville (14-11)
4. Upsala (10-16)
5. Ogilvie (12-13)
6. East Central (10-15)
7. Mille Lacs (7-19)
8. Hinckley-Finlayson (4-21)

Pine River-Backus (22-4) is the top seed in Sub-Section 5A-West, which holds its Final Four and championship games at Wadena-Deer Creek high school.

Law enforcement response in Belgrade (VIDEO)

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, trailing 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 team is 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.

Two conference losses (VIDEO)

This was a rough night for our basketball teams.

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.

Final at Royalton: Royals 63, Jaguars 61.

A win and a loss - once again (VIDEO)

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.

B-B-E speech hosts Jagtastic Invitational (VIDEO, hoops updates)O)

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.

A win and a loss (VIDEOS, Updates)

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, the B-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

Valentine's Day is almost here (basketball updates)

To see more on Valentine's Day, click here: ValentinesDayHours.

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.

GAME NIGHT! Home cooking

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.

B-B-E's Sno-Daze begins tomorrow morning *(UPDATED)

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.

Every day is a perfect day to improve yourself!

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!

Basketball teams sweep Browerville

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 team in 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