BBE hopes to make some more history

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa’s Harley Roering dribbles toward the baseline during a non-conference game against Minneota on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021 at Minneota High School. Patrick Bernadeau / West Central Tribune

Jaguars are coming off their best season, a second-place finish at state

BY TOM ELLIOTT | West Central Tribune

BELGRADE — Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa is coming off the best girls basketball season in school history. After qualifying for state in 2020, the Jaguars did a whole lot more than that in 2021, finishing second in Class A at the Target Center. BBE lost to Minneota 48-45 in a great championship final after knocking off West Central Area 76-71 and Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 51-50 in the state tournament’s first two rounds.

Along the way they won the Central Minnesota Conference title with a 14-0 record and took the Section 5A championship while posting a 23-2 record. It’s the stuff by which highlight videos are made.

The bad news is the Jaguars lost almost everyone from that squad, including West Central Tribune All-Area player Allisa Knight, a 5-foot-11 forward who is now playing at Minnesota State-Moorhead and was the leader of a talented Class of 2021.

The good news? There’s plenty of remaining talent, though less experienced, to make BBE a top contender in the conference and section again. As Kristina Anderson approaches her 10th season with a career 172-88 record, the Jaguars should still be strong. But it’s a young roster.

There are two seniors, Shelby Anderson, a 5-5 guard, and Kailey Fischer, a 5-9 forward. There are five juniors, including Tiyana Schwinghammer (5-10, f), Allison Dingmann (5-10, f), Ella Halvorson (5-10, f), Abby Berge (5-10, g) and Harley Roering (5-6, g).

Berge is definitely a player to watch. She’s perhaps the top scorer in the West Central Tribune area and a 3-point sharpshooter. Sophomores Brooklyn Fischer (5-10, f), Anna Jaeger (5-5, g), Presley Detloff (5-5, g/f); Faith Radermacher (5-5, g) and Grace Jackson (5-2, g) also could contribute, as could ninth-grader Bree Theischafer (5-4, g).

The Jaguars are off to a good start. They opened with a 70-45 victory at Melrose, then beat Pine River-Backus, a Section 5A opponent, 77-58. There’ll be a test Dec. 10 when they play Osakis in Belgrade.

If it all comes together, BBE could be making some more memories.