2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAA Semifinal Game - Becker vs Waconia 3-12-20

The other Class AAA semifinal game on this Thursday afternoon was one I was definitely looking forward to as Becker; last year's state runner-up, was taking on Waconia.  Becker came into this state tournament with a solid 25-2 record while Waconia was arguably an underdog in this one as they entered this state tournament with a 19-10 record.  But you knew somehow that this game could be a very interesting one despite all the Covid-19 implications now swirling around this state tournament.

Becker would grab a 6-4 lead by the 14:20 mark of this first half and a lay-up by sophomore Maren Westin at the 12:57 mark would increase the Bulldogs lead to 8-4.  Two more quick scores would make it 12-4 by the 12:21 mark and Waconia Head Coach Dusty Neibauer knew his team was clearly in the danger zone and called for a thirty-second halt to the action to get his team calmed down.  But a Westin "3" at the 11:46 mark would push the Becker lead to 15-7 and the pressure defense the Bulldogs were applying was causing all sorts of problems for this Waconia team.  The Wildcats were down 20-12 by the 9:25 mark and two free throws by junior Dani Dykstra at the 9:11 mark had the deficit down to six at 20-14.  Senior forward Natalie Meath would connect with a lay-up in transition with 8:47 left that drew a foul in the process and although she couldn't cash in on the "and one", the Wildcats were still in that six-point range down 22-16.  A "3" by junior guard Sydni Olson with 6:35 left kept Waconia in that six-point range down 25-19.  Becker would quickly respond and build a ten-point 29-19 advantage with 5:55 left and a "3" by junior guard Julia Bengston with 5:30 left would up that lead to 32-19.  Fellow junior guard Courtney Nuest would add a "3" with 4:45 left to make it a 37-27 game.  With 3:00 left in the first half, Becker's lead had grown to 43-31 and a short jumper in the lane by sophomore guard Adeline Kent off of an inbounds pass had the Bulldogs in great shape up 47-31 and Becker would take a twenty-point cushion into the locker room at the halftime break up 54-34.  A quick check of the halftime stats show that Waconia's 12 first half turnovers played a big part in their demise in this first half and the fact that Becker held a sizable 26-17 edge on the boards thus far was not helping the Wildcats cause at all.

The positives were few and far between for Waconia as Becker would continue to widen the gap in the early moments of the second half.  Junior guard Alayna Lindquist's lay-up at the 14:40 mark extended the Bulldogs lead to 63-38 and a Kent lay-up at the 12:56 mark made it 67-43.  Waconia's Meath would drain a "3" at the 11:12 mark but the Wildcats needed an extended run to get back into this one.  Becker's Bengston would connect with a lay-up at the 10:19 mark to make it 75-51.  To their credit, the Wildcats would keep battling and would get within twenty at 79-62 with 7:30 left
and a lay-up in transition by sophomore forward Audrey Swanson with 5:03 left had the deficit down to eighteen but the gap would simply be too much to overcome for this Waconia team.  Becker freshman guard Ayla Brown would nail a "3" with 3:53 left to give the Bulldogs a 90-67 lead.  For good measure, Becker's freshman Maren Westin would add a three-point play the old-fashioned way with just over two minutes left and the Bulldogs would roll into the Championship Game on Saturday night for a much-awaited rematch with DeLaSalle with a 96-75 triumph. 

Waconia's Niebauer talked about how his team's season actually started last year in the section final loss and how that had a lasting impact on this team.  He talked about how his team doubled down and worked hard to get to this point as Waconia had never been to the state tournament before.  He also mentioned about how Waconia was nearly shoved up to AAAA status this year but luckily remained in the AAA field.  But the possibility still forced Niebauer to schedule a lot of AAAA teams this season and said it was a learning experience for his team.  But the tougher competition forced his team to not only get more physical and stronger but mentally tougher as well.  I asked Niebauer about Becker's ability to push the ball up the court with the players they have and that once they were able to get some separation, it really made things difficult for his team.  "We didn't finish well ourselves in the paint....And that sets them up to outlet push down the sideline and all five of their girls can run and push the ball up the court....We have a tendency to, when we miss shots, to get in our own heads.....So, even when we would score, they're so quick to inbound and push outlet and we didn't talk as well in transition and we just dug ourselves too big of a hole with foul trouble and everything else.....And we didn't rebound the ball very well either."  Niebauer also pointed out that Becker's #23 (Megan Gamble) "just killed us".  I also asked Niebauer about what this experience has meant for his team and what they have to do going forward to get another chance like this.  "We have to keep getting better 'physically' because that's the thing about Becker and these other teams you see out here....They don't count on a foul being called.  They're going to finish no matter what and we're still kind of 'hoping'.  We're hoping for calls to go our way and we're halfway there.....But it's about strength and control....And again if we finish well, we're at least in striking distance but when it's twenty points against a team that shot the ball as well as they did today, it felt like a gulf and that's what it was."  Niebauer also lamented that his team never could put together consecutive stops that might have changed things up a bit. 

Becker Head Coach Dan Baird felt like it was his team's shot-making ability that helped his team advance on this day.  "It was our shot-making....Our girls, they put a ton of time in during the summer......We have a lot of girls that our involved in our 20,000 shot program that our youth association puts on and it showed on a night like tonight."  I pointed out to Baird that I thought his team just looked so much more relaxed out on the floor compared to last year.  "One thing that I've told the girls all season, and I don't know if they've believed it or not, but we're twenty points better....We would have beaten last year's team by twenty points and I've said that consistently through the year because we're just bigger, we're stronger, quicker and the kids put a ton of time on their skills in the off-season and, it shows....Now we've got the rematch that we wanted and we just gotta go out and do that on the big stage."  I also asked Baird about this core of juniors that he has on this team and the leadership process and how that has evolved.  "You know, it was a growing process."  He pointed out how Julia Bengston has been a leader for this squad since the eighth grade and how even the girls in upper grades looked up toward her for leadership.  "She just does things the right way" Baird added. 

When you look at the final box score for this one, you immediately see that Becker had an incredibly balanced scoring attack on this day with Bengston's 20 points leading the way and Westin was right behind with 19 points.  Kent would add 15 points and Nuest had 12 points and Gamble finished with 10 points.  On the Waconia side, Swanson's 16 points led the way while Addy Salzer had 14 points and Meath would have 11 points while Tess Johnson had 10 points.  Becker had a sizable edge on the boards by a 40-32 count and Waconia had 19 turnovers on this day as well.