Step III: Jaguars fight to the end, season upended by Braham (VIDEOS)

A terrific start during which the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team could do no wrong became a faded memory by halftime in tonight's Sub-Section 5A-East championship game. Braham overcame a 14-point deficit to lead 30-26 at halftime. The Jaguars could get no closer than 2 points in the second half as they saw their season end in a 64-51 loss.

How the first half played out against Braham:
Against relentless ball pressure, the Jaguars punched top-seeded Braham out of the gates and led 18-4 after 8 minutes had been played. The 14-0 run that gave the Jaguars that huge early advantage was followed by an incredible 16-1 run by the Bombers.

With 15:45 left, Braham scored to tie it at 4-4 on a layup. Over 2 scoreless minutes played out before the Jaguars rocked the Bombers with a flurry of scoring. Starting at the 13:36 mark when Macey Roering scored her 3rd basket of the game, the Jaguars scored 14 unanswered points in less than 4 minutes. When Tiffany Dingmann banked a three-pointer for an 18-4 lead, the clock showed 9:46 left before halftime.

Here's a video from early in the first half as the Jaguars were pulling away from a 4-4 tie:


With 9:10 left, Braham's Emily Davis knocked down the first three-point shot for the Bombers. This basket started a 9-0 run for Braham, and a fastbreak shot by the Bombers brought the score to 18-13.

Here's another first half video from tonight's game in Foley:


By halftime, Braham's 30-26 lead resulted after they outscored the Jaguars 26-8 across the last 9 1/2 minutes before the break.

How the second half played out:
Early in the second half, the best the Jaguars could do was play even with Braham across the first 6 minutes. The biggest basket of the game for B-B-E was delivered on a successful three-point shot by Tiffany Dingmann with 11:11 to go. This shot brought the Jaguars to a 40-38 deficit.

Braham proceeded to outscore the Jaguars 24-13 across the game's final 10 1/2 minutes.

The Jaguars shot a cool 34 percent from the floor, but more difficult was 9-of-17 free throw shooting. Tiffany Dingmann had an outstanding game with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Mya Worms scored 13 points and 5 rebounds, and Kacey Fischer had 11 points plus 5 rebounds.

For the Jaguars, a terrific conference championship season came to an end with a final record of 20-9. They shook off back-to-back subsection semifinal losses the past 2 years to earn a championship berth for the first time since 2022-2023.

For Braham, they are looking to erase a 13-year state tournament drought. Their last state berth was in 2012-2013, when they finished 32-1 and lost 60-59 in the Class 2A state championship game. They went 0-1 at state the prior season. In the 2010-2011 season, the Bombers went 31-2 and won the Class 2A title by defeating Minnehaha Academy 68-61 in the state championship. Braham was state runners-up in 2009-2010, during which they fell to Minnehaha Academy in the Class 2A state finals.

In Sub-Section 5A-West at Wadena tonight...the Pine River-Backus Tigers survived a mild upset bid by Cass Lake-Bena with a 54-51 overtime win. The Tigers will meet Braham this Friday at SCSU's Halenbeck Hall for a berth in the state tournament.

In Class 2A playoffs, Sauk Centre will face Milaca for a state tournament berth this Friday at SCSU. The Mainstreeters are 22-6 overall and are playing their best basketball of the season at just the right time. The Sauk-vs-Milaca game will be a rematch of the season opener, which Sauk Centre won 60-55 on their home floor.

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 3:
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 62, Rothsay 46 (Rothsay finishes 22-7 with one of their best seasons in recent history)
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 56, Menahga 44
Breckenridge 61, Underwood 58
Sauk Centre 72, Foley 67
Milaca 71, Pine City 39

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 3:
Montevideo 74, Luverne 61
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 69, New London-Spicer 37
Central MN Christian-Prinsburg 89, Renville County West 45
Mayer Lutheran 77, BOLD 57
Minnewaska Area 60, Litchfield 55

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.

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.

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

Girls' basketball takes a tough two-point loss

In a game with championship-level implications, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled for an entire game at Kimball Area tonight. At halftime, the Jaguars trailed 26-17.

Strong three-point shooting in the second half nearly overcame other shortcomings in the game, and the Jaguars made 6 of 15 three-point attempts after halftime. The Jaguars trailed 53-48 with 1:33 to go but could not complete the comeback across the last minute.

Ultimately, the Jaguars lost the game on free throws with 3-of-13 shooting on the line.

Final score: Kimball Area 53, B-B-E 51. The Jaguars have a break in competition until Friday, February 6, when they host Royalton. As it stands now, we have a three-way tie for first place in the CMC with B-B-E, Royalton and Kimball Area. Overall, B-B-E is 14-5 with 7 games remaining before playoffs begin.

At Holdingford tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team lost 67-48 while seeing their three-game winning streak come to an end. The Huskers led 32-29 at halftime.

Next for the boys' basketball team: the Jaguars travel to Paynesville Area for a CMC border battle next Monday, February 2. Those two teams square off in a rematch on Thursday, February 6 in Belgrade.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 30:
Royalton 72, Paynesville Area 34

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on January 30:
Paynesville Area 77, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 53
Eden Valley-Watkins 87, Maple Lake 52
Royalton 79, Kimball Area 63

Area girls' basketball scores on January 30:
BOLD 83, Montevideo 20
East Central 41, Hinckley-Finlayson 37
Sauk Centre 59, Minnewaska Area 46
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 66, Melrose Area 42
West Central Area 56, Parkers Prairie 45
Braham 72, Mille Lacs 25
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 81, Dawson-Boyd 56
New London-Spicer 58, Annandale 20
Benson 69, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 35
Willmar 78, Rocori 31
Osakis 68, Upsala 38
Swanville 56, Browerville 20
Minneota 63, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 58

Halftime on the home court (VIDEO)

At halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team holds a commanding 43-24 lead against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The Jaguars are playing on back-to-back nights in the Central Minnesota Conference. The Falcons displayed terrific ball pressure across most of the first half, but the Jaguars exploded after falling behind 18-14 with 7:10 to go. With 6:54 left, Teagan Dingmann canned a three-pointer, and the Jaguars rolled from that point while scoring 15 points in the final 5 minutes before halftime.

Here's action from later in the 2nd half tonight:


With 10 minutes to go, Kacey Fischer drained a three-pointer that tied the game at 14-14.

No word yet out of Maple Lake, where the boys' basketball team is also playing in a CMC game. UPDATE: with 14:44 left in the game, the Jaguars are ahead of Maple Lake 44-42.

Girls' basketball sweeps EV-W, Pirouettes dance team sweeps at home invitational (VIDEOS)

In their best night of the season so far, the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team earned a clean sweep in 3 categories tonight in their home invitational. The Pirouettes took first place in JV jazz, varsity jazz and varsity kick. This gives them tremendous momentum heading into the Camden Conference championships, which is this Friday at Yellow Medicine East high school in Granite Falls.

Here's a video featuring the awards ceremony from tonight:


The Section 2A dance meet is at New London-Spicer on Saturday, February 7.

Additional dance team coverage is in the upcoming issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, which goes to press before sunrise tomorrow!

In basketball news...
Also in home action tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team completed a season sweep over Central Minnesota Conference rival Eden Valley-Watkins with a 69-51 win.

The Jaguars (12-4) had balanced scoring and were led by Tiffany Dingmann's 15 points, all on 5 made three-point shots. Also in double figures were Macey Roering (12), Teagan Dingmann (10), Kacey Fischer (14) and Mya Worms (10). In the CMC, the Jaguars improve to 7-0 and continue their hold on first place alone.

Here's a video featuring the final seconds of the game:


At Kimball tonight, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City's girls' basketball team lost 61-47 to fall to 2-5 in the CMC. The Cubs improve to 6-1 and remain just one game out of first place.

In their CMC game tonight, I heard the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The final score was 85-65. That's all I've got for this blog post, as it's time to get the newspaper ready for press. The blog post will be vastly revamped tomomorrow. Good night.

Next for the boys' basketball team: the Jaguars (6-7) host a strong Benson team on Thursday this week. The Braves are 13-0 overall and hold first place alone in the Prairie Conference. They are the No. 4-ranked team in the Section 6A QRF standings. The Jaguars sit at No. 11 out of 22 teams.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 20:
Holdingford 59, Paynesville Area 53
Royalton 59, Maple Lake 24
Kimball Area 61, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 47

Area boys' basketball scores on January 20:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 80, Eden Valley-Watkins 56
Browerville 69, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 62
Montevideo 66, Melrose Area 46
Kimball Area 63 Milaca 50
Minnewaska Area 64, Sauk Centre 53
Benson 70, Osakis 68
West Central Area 73, BOLD 39
Hancock 69, Rothsay 57
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 90, Minneota 47
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 95, Parkers Prairie 45
Underwood 52, Border West 41

Two Central Minnesota Conference wins, Girls' Basketball takes sole grab on 1st place (VIDEOS)

It's not how you start...it is how you finish!

Of course, strong starts to games are always helpful...with that said, tonight was a great night for our basketball teams.

At Holdingford, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team was powered by a career-high 28 points from junior Teagan Dingmann in a 70-56 win. Consistency was the key, with the Jaguars shooting 38 percent from the floor in the first half and 42 percent in the second. They cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half after holding a 33-31 halftime lead.

Teagan Dingmann made 4 three-pointers while also grabbing 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Macey Roering scored 15 points, and Mya Worms had 14 to round out the players who were in double figures.

The girls' basketball team improves to 11-3 overall with the win and 6-0 in the CMC. Coming into tonight, Kimball Area was 5-0 in the CMC; they played at Royalton.

FRIDAY update: the Royalton Royals sent a message in the CMC, as they pounded on Kimball Area Thursday night by a 74-37 score to knock the Cubs into second place. The Cubs fall to 5-1 in the CMC, while the Royals improve to 5-1. Kimball Area was on an eight-game winning streak.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on January 15:
Eden Valley-Watkins 57, Paynesville Area 42

In boys' basketball action...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has a strong rivalry going with Royalton, and their games generally are close, hard-fought battles regardless of which court they play on. Tonight's game was no different, as the Jaguars fought their way to a 24-23 halftime lead.

Powered by outstanding three-point shooting in the second half, the Jaguars defeated the Royals 59-46 for their second win in 3 nights. Their defense was terrific, as they held the Royals 16 points below their scoring average.

Here's a video featuring the starter introductions and more against Royalton:


This evens their CMC record at 2-2, and they are 5-6 overall going into tomorrow night's girls/boys doubleheader at Sauk Centre. Royalton falls to 2-3 in the CMC and 5-7 overall with their fourth straight loss. This was an impressive win. Earlier in the season, the Royals defeated Eden Valley-Watkins 68-44. Three nights before that, Royalton won 58-56 at Kimball Area.

In the CMC, the boys' basketball team has pulled into a tie for fourth place with Kimball Area.

Here's video from later in the second half:


Tomorrow night at Sauk Centre: preliminary games start at 4:30 p.m. in various gyms at Sauk Centre high school; the girls' varsity game starts at 6 p.m., and the boys' varsity game is set to follow starting at about 7:30 p.m. Also tomorrow night: the wrestling team travels to New London-Spicer for an invitational that starts at 3:30 p.m.

More to come. Video is uploading. I'm also getting a little side-tracked. Lately, I've gotten into the habit of watching Leave it to Beaver on our Roku TV channel. They are really, really terrific shows! Wholesome and good, which is what the world needs more of today.

Area girls' basketball scores on January 15:
West Central Area 69, Montevideo 37
Minnewaska Area 56, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 46
Lakeview 60, MACCRAY 52
Central MN Christian 79, Yellow Medicine East 41
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 80, Renville County West 42
#3 New London-Spicer 65, Dassel-Cokato 41

Girls' basketball overpowers Maple Lake in strong second half (VIDEOS)

A 39-point outburst in the second half paved the way for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team to earning a 65-39 win against visiting Maple Lake tonight. The Jaguars launched a total of 89 field goals in the game. Their final shooting percentage was 28. Mya Worms led the charge with 14 points.

B-B-E was coming off of a 9-day layoff, with their last game coming on Saturday, December 27 in Sartell. The rust was a mighty obstacle to overcome in the first half, and the Jaguars missed all 9 three-point attempts in the first 18 minutes.

The sledding gets "100 times" tougher, as the Jaguars now prepare for a road trip to Royalton. There's no time to rest, as this road trip takes place tomorrow. The Royals, defending CMC champions, are 4-5 overall (3-0 CMC).

Here's a video featuring the National Anthem plus starter introductions and the opening tip-off:


The opening minutes of the game brought a mighty struggle as the Jaguars took time to find their shot. Through 5 1/2 minutes of play, the Irish led 9-2, and B-B-E's only points were from Kacey Fischer's field goal at the 15:53 mark.

Here's action from the first half tonight:


Coming tomorrow: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosts Hancock in a key Section 6A game. The Owls are 5-2 overall and currently ranked No. 7 in Section 6A. The Jaguars are ranked No. 13. Overall, Section 6A includes 23 teams.

I've been slowly getting this winter sports photo album caught up: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Winter-Sports-25-26.

GAME NIGHT! The Irish are in town

A JV and varsity night is underway on the home floor for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, who is facing Maple Lake. The JV Jaguars held a 26-15 lead at halftime and ended up winning in a blowout. I didn't write down the final score. It was by at least 30 points.

The varsity Irish team holds a 1-6 overall record; they are 0-2 in the Central Minnesota Conference. Maple Lake's lone win was by a 48-46 score in Maple Lake on December 5 against St. John's Prep.

The varsity game should get going at 7:10 p.m.

Update: with 8:23 left in the first half, the Jaguars took their first lead of the game with Kamie Fischer scoring in the paint. This gave B-B-E a 12-11 lead.

Halftime: B-B-E 26, Maple Lake 16. The Jaguars had a nice flurry of action in the last 2 minutes to expand a 20-15 lead to the 10-point halftime margin.

Jaguars win shootout in overtime vs. BOLD (VIDEOS, UPDATED*)

The game was up for grabs until the last 2 seconds were on the clock in overtime. Once 40 minutes of cutthroat, run-and-gun basketball was complete, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team had an 87-81 win to their credit over the BOLD Warriors.

At halftime, the Jaguars held a 48-37 lead. Through regulation play, the score was tied 78-78. BOLD's Erika Martinson, 5'6" sophomore guard, swished a three-pointer at the top of the key with 5 seconds left in the second half to force overtime. With 3:48 left in the second half, Martinson drained a corner three-pointer that lifted BOLD on top 70-68. That field goal was her first of the game, and she finished with 11 points.

The game had a slow start, and the Jaguars led 5-3 two minutes into the first half.

With 14:26 left, Teagan Dingmann's three-pointer put the Jaguars ahead 10-5. The Warriors gained a 12-10 lead, but Reese Kampsen scored with 13 minutes left to tie the score. BOLD led 18-14 and then 20-16 with 10 minutes to go.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Macey Roering made it a 30-25 lead for B-B-E, and they expanded that to a 43-30 advantage with Kacey Fischer's fastbreak bucket at the 1:55 mark.

I've got some extensive notes to work through.

Here's a video featuring the start of the game:


It was a WILD second half...
The Jaguars looked good in the first minute out of the locker room. Tiffany Dingmann's three-pointer extended their lead to 51-37 with 17:25 left. BOLD's Martinson responded with a three-pointer with 16:09 left, and the Warriors were on an 11-0 run that took 2 1/2 minutes of game time. With 13:02 left, Macey Roering knocked down an off-balance 12-foot shot for a 53-48 lead.

Back-to-back shots from Mya Worms and Reese Kampsen made it 57-50 with 11:10 left. Just 2 minutes later, BOLD's leading scorer, sophomore Lilly Henriksen, cashed two bonus free throws to cut B-B-E's lead to 59-56. Roering's layup with 8:34 left gave the Jaguars a two-possession lead, and shots in the paint from Kamie Fischer and Worms pushed the lead to 67-58 with 7:15 left. The Jaguars went into a cold spell, while the Warriors used a 12-1 run to gain a 70-68 lead after Martinson's first field goal of the game with 3:48 left.

Martinson drained her second three-pointer of regulation with 66 seconds left which put BOLD ahead 75-74. Tiffany Dingmann's fastbreak shot on a terrific assist from Teagan Dingmann made for another lead change before the Warriors tied it at 78-78 to lead to overtime.

Here's action from the second half of regulation:


And! Here's a lengthy video featuring the last 2 minutes of the second half.

Second half action, as regulation play ends:


In overtime, Mya Worms scored in the paint with 3 minutes to go for an 81-78 lead. The Warriors got 2 double bonus free throws with 1:59 left, and they tied the game with one free throw with 1:44 to go. Kacey Fischer made a field goal with 1:35 left, and Worms scored a cleanup shot in the paint for an 84-81 lead.

B-B-E had strong 42 percent field goal shooting for the game. Two Jaguars had double doubles: Kacey Fischer (25 points, 14 rebounds) and Macey Roering (19 points, 10 rebounds). Reese Kampsen had 7 points off the bench.

BOLD, who was 4-1 coming into the game, is a contender in Section 2A. Sophomore guard Lilly Henriksen led all scorers with 33 points.

There's no time to rest, as the Jaguars have a big Central Minnesota Conference game coming tomorrow night at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. **NOTE: the tip-off of the varsity girls' basketball game in Grove City is at 5:30 p.m. The JV game will follow that at about 7 p.m. The Falcons are 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the CMC; in their latest game, which was on Monday in Grove City, the Falcons lost 44-34 to Kimball Area.

In girls' hockey news...
In girls' hockey action tonight, the No. 19-ranked River Lakes Stars lost 3-0 to the St. Cloud Crush in Paynesville. The Stars are now 5-4-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the Central Lakes Conference. They travel to Fergus Falls next Tuesday for a big CLC game against the first-place Otters. Fergus Falls and Alexandria are tied for first in the CLC with 3-0 records.

According to the latest statistics I see at the Star Tribune hockey hub, B-B-E sophomore Lillian Thompson has played goalie for River Lakes in all 10 games. She's logged 518 minutes and faced 302 shots on goal. She's recorded 272 saves for a 90.1 percent save rate.

Have you checked out the forecast? Even tomorrow looks crazy! Once the sun rises on Friday, the temperature will slowly drop to below zero. We have a brutally cold weekend coming our way. I was delayed in blogging tonight after spending about a half hour shoveling snow away from our parking areas on the street and by our sidewalk.

A quick shout out to Jane Fauskee and her Hopeful Hills Ranch business in Gilchrist Township! She has a big Christmas Sale and open house this weekend at her ranch. Her business website is: https://www.hopefulhillsranchalpacas.com/farm-and-herd.

Area girls' basketball scores on December 11:
Osakis 51, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 18
Milaca 75, Upsala 51
Hutchinson 47, Annandale 32
Pierz 67, Upsala 58
Breckenridge 81, Border West 32
Pine River-Backus 85, Blackduck 47
Nicollet 67, Renville County West 47
Benson 64, Dawson-Boyd 53
Brainerd 63, Willmar 59
Alexandria 55, Fergus Falls 46
Underwood 65, Parkers Prairie 34
Sartell-St. Stephen 72, St. Cloud Crush 19
Breckenridge 81, Border West 32
Hancock 57, Canby 50
Lac qui Parle Valley 54, Wabasso 51
Central MN Christian 86, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 74

Area boys' basketball scores on December 11:
Sauk Centre 66, BOLD 34
Barnesville 74, Minnewaska Area 54
Albany 67, Annandale 55
New London-Spicer 73, Redwood Valley 72
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 68, Montevideo 66
Rothsay 98, Parkers Prairie 67
Holdingford 73, Little Falls 36
Willmar 58, Sauk Rapids-Rice 54
Browerville 81, St. John's Prep 44
Hancock 61, Border West 60
Osakis 60, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 35
West Central Area 54, Melrose Area 53
Ashby 64, Brandon-Evansville 44
St. Cloud Cathedral 91, Royalton 56
K-M-S 69, MACCRAY 43
Central MN Christian 74, LQPV 27
Dawson-Boyd 89, Ortonville 51

Bombers claim subsection title

The Braham Bombers girls' basketball team has repeated as Sub-Section 5A-East champions. They defeated Upsala 65-53 at Foley high school to improve to 22-5 overall. They now face Walker-Hackensack-Akeley in a repeat of last year's Section 5A championship. The Wolves and Bombers square off this Friday at 7:45 p.m. at St. Cloud State University's Halenbeck Hall, and the winner advances to state. W-H-A won the section title last year for the school's first-ever trip to the girls' basketball state tournament.

In tonight's game, the No. 3-seeded Cardinals led 6-0 and 11-4 early, but the Bombers stormed back with a 14-0 run to lead 18-11. Upsala came back to lead 24-23, but Braham went into halftime ahead 31-27.

Wednesday afternoon update...in college news...
The Northland Technical and Community College Pioneers women's basketball team is heading to the national tournament! This afternoon, they received news that they earned an At-Large bid to the NJCAA Division III tournament that begins on March 12 in Rochester, Minnesota. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer is one of their leading scorers in her second year on the team. The Pioneers are 21-5 overall and were ranked No. 3 in the latest NJCAA polls. More to follow as I learn it...

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 4:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 89, Paynesville Area 54
Montevideo 87, Minnewaska Area 56
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 66, New Ulm Cathedral 47

Step II: semifinals is a bust, Jaguars suffer brutal loss; more state wresting success (VIDEO)

Note: video was added late Saturday night to this blog post...

First, I'll start off with the great news.

At the state wrestling tournament: Noah Jensen finished one of the most spectacular 8th grade wrestling seasons at B-B-E by winning a 17-0 tech fall (4:41) in the 107-pound third-place match. With that, he gains a small level of "bragging rights" against his big brother, Tyler, who also had a wonderful 8th grade wrestling season before finishing in 6th place at the state tournament. Tyler Jensen was a 2022 B-B-E graduate.

At 160, Brett DeRoo won an 11-5 decision in the consolation bracket to advance to the third-place match. DeRoo (41-3) faces Holdingford junior Simon Boeckman (44-8) in the third-place match.

More good news: Olive Olson earned a berth in the finals round in Humorous at the Chatfield speech invitational today. Olson ultimately placed 6th overall. In Great Speeches, Tia Nelson took second place with another berth in the finals. The B-B-E speech team left Chatfield at about 5:00 p.m. to head back to Jaguar Country.

Back to state wrestling news: Brett DeRoo finished a spectacular season as a Jaguar wrestler with a fourth-placee finish at 160 pounds at the state tournament. He lost by a 2-0 decision in the third-place match tonight with a final season record of 41-4.

At 215 pounds, Carson Gilbert meets United North Central sophomore Eli Roiko (35-4) in the championship match that comes later tonight at Xcel Energy Center.

In girls' basketball playoff news...heartbreak in Hinckley
In my humble opinion, the game was lost in the first 6 minutes of the opening half. It was tough to watch, as Upsala attacked the rim with a high level of intensity on offense while using their defense to push the tempo. Facing the No. 3-seeded Cardinals for the second time this season, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled nearly the entire game and came up short in a devastating 54-51 loss in the Sub-Section 5A-East semifinals.

Upsala's fast start helped them build early leads of 12-4 (with just over 6 minutes played) and later 17-10 (with 9:39 left).

Before the game, news had just been released that Region 5A officials moved the site for the upcoming subsection championship game from Hinckley to Foley high school. It was a terrific prize for either Upsala or B-B-E, but it required winning today's game to get that prize.

Here's a video from the first half today in Hinckley:


In that video, the clip begins right after Upsala scored in the paint with 5:15 left. This gave the Cardinals a 20-17 lead. Across the first 6 minutes, Upsala built a 12-4 lead, but the Jaguars clawed their way back to trail 18-17 when Macey Roering went 1-of-2 at the free throw line with 5:33 to go.

It was not meant to be for the Jaguars, who had an outstanding season from the outer view with a 19-9 final season record, a runner-up finish in the Central Minnesota Conference and a 2-0 record at the Granite City Classic over Christmas. This was all achieved with just 3 seniors on the roster and just 2 senior starters. However, earning playoff hardware was not in the cards. Upsala played a terrific game from start to finish and withstood an incredible second-half comeback by the Jaguars.

With 11:45 left, Upsala led 41-27 and appeared firmly in the driver's seat. The Jaguars slowly chipped away, and they tied it at 48-48 on two free throws by Kacey Fischer with 1:43 left. With under 1 minute to go, Teagan Dingmann's three-pointer forced a 51-51 tie, but the Cardinals won the game on a banked three-pointer by senior guard Isabel Ripplinger on the left wing with 23 seconds to go.

Upsala (19-9) advances to the subsection finals to face top-seeded Braham (22-6) next Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at Foley high school. Upsala has 6 seniors on the roster, and they earned a huge feat by getting Upsala into a playoff championship game for the first time in many years. (I'll look that up later.) This is all I have for now, as my laptop battery is nearing the end of its charge. This blog post will be updated again at about 7 p.m.

In Class 1A state wrestling news...the Jaguars have another state champion in the program. Carson Gilbert won by a 6-5 decision in the 215-pound state championship tonight to finish a perfect 42-0 overall. He's the third B-B-E wrestler to have an undefeated season, joining Adam Jaeger (2018) and Maximus Hanson (2024). 

Gilbert trailed 4-2 after the first period but took the lead with a takedown with just 20 seconds remaining in the third period. The 3 points awarded at that point gave him a 6-5 lead.

In college basketball news...
Earlier today in the NJCAA Division III Region 13B tournament, Northland Technical and Community College (21-4) defeated St. Cloud Technical and Community College 70-49 to advance to tomorrow's national-qualifying championship game. The Pioneers, who include B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer, face Rochester Community and Technical College (20-4) tomorrow on back Northland's home court at noon in Thief River Falls. The winner gets an automatic berth in the NJCAA DIII national tournament.

The STCC Cyclones finish 11-13 overall after earning a region playoff berth for the first time since 2020 and just the third time in program history. They were led this season by B-B-E Class of 2024 graduate Brooklyn Fischer.

Schwinghammer and fellow sophomore Josie Iverson each scored 16 points to lead the No. 3-ranked Pioneers, who are the top seed in Region 13A. Also in the scorebox for Schwinghammer: 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots.

In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate College conference tournament quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, the Minnesota State University-Moorhead Dragons women's basketball team lot 87-79 to top-seeded Southwest Minnesota State University. MSU-Moorhead finishes 14-16 overall after they went 11-11 in the NSIC regular season. B-B-E Class of 2023 graduate Abby Berge scored 13 points with 6 rebounds for the Dragons.

Ridgewater College lost 74-53 to Minnesota West Community College in the Region 13A semifinals today in Thief River Falls. The Warriors, whose roster includes B-B-E Class of 2024 graduate Grace Jackson, went 4-20 overall this season.

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 1:
Sauk Centre 68, Foley 48
Breckenridge 66, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 49
Annandale 58, Osakis 57
West Central Area 62, Hancock 57
Underwood 60, New York Mills 53
Royalton 49, Albany 43
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 69, Sebeka 30
Bertha-Hewitt 61, Pine River-Backus 46
Fergus Falls 59, Willmar 47

Step I: dominant performance sends Jaguars to semifinals (VIDEO)

A terrific postseason streak continues for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team! You have to go back 15 seasons to see the last time that this team lost in the playoff opener.

After building a 49-13 halftime lead tonight, the Jaguars advance with a 75-33 win against Mille Lacs in the Sub-Section 5A-East quarterfinals.

The Jaguars fired on all cylinders in the opening half with 47 percent field goal shooting (5-of-12 beyond the arc) and 4-of-6 shooting at the line.

Here's the final seconds of tonight's game:


The Jaguars shot 39 percent on field goals and were 7-of-21 from outside the arc. At the line, they went 10-for-16 while earning a 31 to 17 advantage in rebounds.

Next: the Jaguars (19-8) travel the completely obnoxious, ridiculous 2 1/2 hour drive east to Hinckley-Finlayson high school for the semifinal game this Saturday, March 1. The game should begin at about 1:45 p.m. that afternoon. The opponent will be No. 3-seeded Upsala (18-9). It will be a rematch of B-B-E's 54-53 loss at home to Upsala on January 28. In the other semifinal game on Saturday in Hinckley, top-seeded Braham will face No. 5-seeded Swanville with tip-off at 12 p.m. sharp.

I have confirmed that Jaguar fans have the treat of being able to enjoy radio coverage on Saturday from both Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood plus 106.5 FM The Train of Norway Lake-Sunburg. Please pass the word!

In their quarterfinal game tonight, the Upsala Cardinals defeated No. 6-seeded Maple Lake 57-45. Braham defeated No. 8-seeded East Centra 82-20. Swanville earned a mild upset by a 76-72 score at No. 4-seeded Ogilvie.

It was in the 2009-2010 season when the Jaguars fell in the Sub-Section 6A-South play-in round 57-51 overtime loss to Hillcrest Lutheran Academy. They've won every playoff opener since that season.

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on February 27:
Minnewaska Area 42, New London-Spicer 36
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 76, Verndale 29
Pine River-Backus 88, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 31
Bertha-Hewitt 52, Browerville 31
Royalton 66, Mora 30
Spectrum 52, Kimball Area 49
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 57, Parkers Prairie 54
Sebeka 74, Nevis 60
BOLD 62, Cedar Mountain 55
West Central Area 63, Brandon-Evansville 49
Milaca 64, Melrose Area 46
Osakis 60, Legacy Christian 41
Annandale 49, St. Cloud Cathedral 25
Foley 64, Holdingford 53
Albany 58, Pine City 41
Willmar 49, Rocori 37
Hancock 83, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 42

GAME NIGHT! In Jaguar Country - Playoffs...**Online ticket purchase only (VIDEOS)

Major update here...see below...

This is playoff time for our B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team. With just 3 seniors on the roster, the Jaguars completed a remarkable regular season during which they won 14 out of their last 17 games. They are 18-8 heading into tonight's Sub-Section 5A-East quarterfinal game, which they will play on the home court in Belgrade against No. 7-seeded Mille Lacs. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Also! Dozens of B-B-E 4th and 5th grade students will gather to sing the National Anthem prior to tip-off tonight.

I will check on whether or not we have radio coverage coming tonight. I believe we will at least have The Train (106.5 FM) in the house. **UPDATE: that was an incorrect belief...there is no radio coverage tonight. The Train will be covering the Minnewaska vs New London-Spicer game, which should prove to be a very exciting game that I feel is up for grabs between two area powerhouses. Tip-off at the college in Marshall is at 5:50 p.m.

Here's a clip from the last regular season game that was played in Royalton over a week ago:


The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website is being updated: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. More to come later. It's soon time to prepare for the big game!

Major update for Jaguar basketball fans...
I got thrown a massive curveball late this afternoon, when I learned that fans for tonight's game can only be admitted after purchasing a ticket via the Internet. This is NOT the idea of B-B-E schools! Or anyone associated with B-B-E...this is a decision by the powers-that-be who run the playoff system. I actually do not know if a person can be admitted if they arrive with just cash, and ask to get a ticket purchased online at the gate. This is all new to me! And no - I am not happy about it, but I can't change it, and it only has the potential to become a distraction.

Here's the link to buy your ticket: https://www.vancoevents.com/us/events/landing/51889?.

FIRST half update: with 12:10 to go, Mya Worms scored on a spin move in the paint to give the Jaguars a 16-0 lead. The Raiders scored their first field goal with 10:53 left. Just after that, Ava Deters hit a three-pointer for a 22-3 B-B-E lead.

The Jaguars continue to play hard the rest of the first half, with a shot by Kacey Fischer at the 7:30 mark giving them a 30-6 lead.

Here's a video featuring the final seconds of the first half tonight:


HALFTIME: B-B-E 49, Mille Lacs 13.

In the Sub-Section 3AA-North championship tonight at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, the New London-Spicer Wildcats held a slim 19-18 lead against Minnewaska Area. Final: Minnewaska Area 42, New London-Spicer 36. The Lakers improve to 26-3 overall and head to the Section 3AA finals, which will be held in Marshall on Thursday, March 6 at 5 p.m. at SMSU.

A NEW blog post goes up tonight after 9 p.m. with the final score plus additional playoff updates.

Girls' basketball playoff seedings; and speech team takes 1st place! (VIDEO)

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has the playoff picture set for the upcoming Sub-Section 5A-East tournament. They recently completed one of the best regular seasons in school history with an 18-8 overall record.

Seeded No. 2 out of 9 teams, the Jaguars will host No. 7-seeded Mille Lacs (9-16 overall) in the quarterfinals on Thursday, February 27. Following the singing of the National Anthem by 4th and 5th grade elementary students, the game tips off at 7 p.m. at B-B-E high school in Belgrade.

Sub-Section 5A-East girls' basketball playoff seeding:
1. Braham (20-5)
2. B-B-E (18-8)
3. Upsala (17-9)
4. Ogilvie (14-11)
5. Swanville (12-12)
6. Maple Lake (5-21)
7. Mille Lacs (9-16)
8. East Central (7-18)
9. St. John's Prep (4-12)

In Sub-Section 5A-West, defending Section 5A champion Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (21-4) is the top seed.

If the Jaguars win their playoff opener, they advance to the semifinal round on Saturday, March 1 at Hinckley-Finlayson high school. Tip-off for that semifinal game would be at about 1:45 p.m.

Shifting to speech news...this is awesome!
At Maple Lake today, the B-B-E speech team earned first place in the Small Schools Division. Eliana Funes placed 6th in Drama. Marlie Schlangen placed 8th in Poetry. In Storytelling, Tia Nelson placed 6th; in Great Speeches, Nelson placed 2nd.

Here's a video featuring senior recognition at the Jagtastic Invitational one week ago:


Next: the B-B-E speech team travels to Chatfield next Friday and Saturday for a weekend getaway and an invitational at Chatfield high school on Saturday, March 1.

Other news...posted on Sunday night:
The Brooten city council's meeting agenda has been posted to the newspaper's editor's blog: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.

In the first annual B-B-E Blaze Blast JO volleyball tournament in Brooten, the Blaze JO 16s took first place in the Gold Division on Saturday.

Here's a little National FFA Week coverage at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/cjnhL.

GAME NIGHT in Jaguar Country!

Tonight's Central Minnesota Conference game for our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team will be broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. They stream online, and their website is https://www.kmgk1071.com. The opponent will be the Royalton Royals. Also, B-B-E's Pep Band will also perform prior to tip-off.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website is being updated with new stories: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Also! The newspaper website's employment listings have been recently updated. You can find the listing by clicking here: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/classifieds/category/employment.


**With under 1 minute to go in the varsity game, the Royals are ahead 49 to 48. More to come in a new blog post, including the final score.

GAME NIGHT! and more (And radio!)

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has their hands full tonight against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The visiting Falcons hold a 20-10 lead with just over 8 minutes to go in the opening half. This is Parents and Seniors Night. Also! This game is being aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. (Thanks, Brady!) Online at https://www.kmgk1071.com.

Later in the first half...the Jaguars rallied and cut the deficit down to 20-18 with a field goal by Adley Hagen at the 5:00 mark.

In the first game of the night, the B-B-E C-squad Class of 2029 Jaguars came back from a 13-6 deficit in the first half to win 24-21. The JV Jaguars earned a win by a wide margin with a final score of 51-28.

At Maple Lake tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team holds a 45-16 lead at halftime.

More to come...later tonight in a new blog post after 9 p.m.

Border battle series sweep (VIDEO)

This blog post is being updated late on Saturday night after an evening at open gym...it has been a long, long day...non-stop movement for 14 hours straight! No kidding.

For at least three-quarters of the game tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team had their hands full in a border battle at Paynesville Area. After the Jaguars led 21-10 at halftime, the Bulldogs punched right back into the mix across the first 6 minutes of the second half. With 12:32 to go, senior Kylie Pauls went 2-for-2 at the free throw line to force a 25-25 tie.

Final score: B-B-E 53, Paynesville Area 42. It was a solid win in spite of ice cold 27.4 percent field goal shooting. They were solid at the free throw line by making 18 of 24 free throws.

With 9:31 to go in the second half, the Bulldogs led 32-29 on a fastbreak shot. Almost a minute later, Kacey Fischer's two free throws lifted the Jaguars ahead 33-32.

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


With 6:28 to go, Teagan Dingmann scored on a rebound shot of her own miss that brought a 37-37 tie. The Bulldogs later tied the game 39-39 with a bucket with 5:35 left. From that point, the Jaguars held the Bulldogs to just 3 more points.

The No. 10-ranked (Minnesota Basketball News) Jaguars (16-7 overall) have now won four straight games. The Bulldogs fall to 7-15 overall (5-6 CMC).

In the latest QRF state rankings, the Jaguars stand at No. 18 in Class 1A. This puts them at No. 2 in the Sub-Section 5A-East standings behind Braham, who is 16-5 overall and No. 4 in the Class 1A QRF rankings.

COMING on Sunday...wresting playoff notes will be added in a new blog post.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 7:
Royalton 65, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 30
Kimball Area 54, Eden Valley-Watkins 29
Holdingford 57, Maple Lake 47 (played on Thursday, February 6 in Maple Lake)

Area girls' basketball scores on February 7:
Upsala 56, Swanville 51
Melrose Area 49, Holdingford 36
Bertha-Hewitt 59, Battle Lake 48
New London-Spicer 57, Glencoe-Silver Lake 48
BOLD 60, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 42
Ogilvie 68, Barnum 65
West Central Area 74, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 58
Dawson-Boyd 75, Benson 60

Area boys' basketball scores on February 7:
Border West 45, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 44
Benson 86, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 48
Montevideo 66, Sauk Centre 50
Brandon-Evansville 75, Battle Lake 40
Melrose Area 63, BOLD 59
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 70, Minnewaska Area 57
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 58, MACCRAY 55
Hancock 87, Ashby 55
West Central Area 71, Park Christian 64
Underwood 82, Parkers Prairie 51
Osakis 60, Little Falls 46
Kimball Area 49, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 43

Area boys' basketball scores on February 6:
Browerville 64, Border West 62

Jaguars pick up third straight win, and a Winter Sports Show (VIDEOS)

The game became a barn burner, and they needed some late-game heroics, but the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team prevailed 53-49 tonight for their third win in a row. The Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles gave the Jaguars all they could handle but ultimately lost for the seventh straight time.

After holding a 31-22 halftime lead, the Jaguars had to withstand intense defensive pressure across the second half. Teagan Dingmann's three-pointer put the Jaguars up 34-24 with 17:05 to go, but the Eagles cut the deficit to 36-34 across the next 4 minutes. They pushed the lead from there to 47-36 with 9 minutes to go. For the last 9 minutes of the game, the Jaguars were held for an 8-minute stretch without a field goal. After EV-W tied the game 49-49 with 1:21 to go, Kacey Fischer knocked down a shot in the lane and two free throws to salt away the narrow win.

From the floor, the Jaguars were ice cold with 26 percent shooting on 67 attempts.

Here's action from the first half tonight:


Now 15-7 overall, the Jaguars continue Central Minnesota Conference action with a border battle game this Friday in Paynesville. The Bulldogs (6-14, 4-5) played at Kimball Area tonight.

B-B-E's JV team completed the season sweep over EV-W with a 53-47 win tonight. The C-squad fell 25-23 in a defensive battle after trailing 12-3 at halftime.

Here's my 7th winter sports show of the season:


More to come. Video is uploading.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on February 4:
Royalton 60, Maple Lake 26
Paynesville Area 51, Kimball Area 29 (the Bulldogs led 25-19 at halftime)
Holdingford 48, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 39 (the Falcons led 20-16 at halftime)

Area girls' basketball scores on February 4:
Milaca 67, Braham 44
Ogilvie 59, Hinckley-Finlayson 31
West Central Area 60, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 42
Barnesville 67, Sauk Centre 64
Albany 58, Foley 41
Cromwell-Wright 66, Pine River-Backus 39
Melrose Area 48, Osakis 47
Hancock 73, Parkers Prairie 45
Rothsay 69, Brandon-Evansville 63
BOLD 75, Springfield 39
Underwood 63, Battle Lake 36
Minnewaska Area 71, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 52 (first loss of the season for K-M-S)
Browerville 64, Verndale 45
Willmar 53, Detroit Lakes 44
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 57, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 38
Upsala 78, Pillager 75