On Tuesday, Dec. 7, BBE traveled to Paynesville in a nonconference match-up. The Bulldogs managed to win a low scoring game 35-32.In the first quarter, the Jaguars jumped to a 12-6 lead. They sank their first two attempts at the 3-point line.
Tiff Rausch (left) and Tanya Lieser (in back of the pile) fight for a rebound with the BBE players on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Carrie Hemmesch (33) watches.
The Bulldogs decided to pick up their defense in their 2-2-1 full court trap. The pressure got to BBE, as they had many turnovers from the pressure, which Paynesville converted to buckets. But the halftime score was only 17-16, with Paynesville in the lead.
At the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs had possession with about a minute remaining. After thirty seconds Paynesville shot and missed, and the Jaguars gained control. They went down the floor and made a three pointer with seconds remaining. The score was now 28-25 in favor of the Jaguars.
With two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Carin Frenchick converted a three-point play after a pass from Carrie Hemmesch. The Bulldogs were now up by three, 35-32, and neither team scored again. The Bulldogs held the Jaguars to four points in both the second and fourth quarters.
"It was sloppy, but it was a win and that's all that counts," said co-captain Carrie Hemmesch.
Leading the Bulldogs was Tanya Lieser with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Stacy Lieser had 11 points, including three treys and three steals. Frenchick and Hemmesch had nine and eight boards apiece.
After the win, Paynesville was rated third in the area, according toThe West Central Tribune,with a 2-0 record.
| BBE-- | 12 | 4 | 12 | 4 | - 32 |
| Paynesville-- | 6 | 11 | 8 | 10 | - 35 |
Cathedral 39
Paynesville 35 (OT)
On Friday, the Bulldogs headed to St. Cloud to face the Crusaders. The girls played a hard game but lost a tough decision in overtime 39-35.
Knowing that the girls haven't won at Cathedral for a long time made it all the more desirable to beat them. During the first quarter Paynesville got Cathedral's post players into foul trouble. But the same was happening for Paynesville. At the end of the first quarter the score was 9-4 in Cathedral's favor.
The Bulldogs exploded in the second quarter, playing tough defense on their press and forcing turnovers again. The Bulldogs handled the pressure very well, and only had 12 turnovers. After a 10-6 advantage in the second quarter, the halftime lead for Cathedral was one, 15-14.
At the start of the fourth quarter the score was 25-23 with Paynesville ahead. It looked as though the Bulldogs might pull it off, with a 34-30 lead with two minutes left. But the Bulldogs missed clutch free throws that could have put them on top. Instead the game headed into overtime.
Cathedral slowly moved ahead in overtime. Both Frenchick and Tanya Lieser, the Bulldogs' starting posts, fouled out.
"We played hard and intense the whole game, we also handled the pressure very well," said coach Pat Deegan.
The girls have games on Thursday and Friday of this week in the Big Lake Tournament. On Tuesday, Dec. 21, they will travel to Long Prairie to face the LPGE Thunder.
| Paynesville-- | 4 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 1 | - 35 |
| Cathedral-- | 9 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 5 | - 39 |