Breckenridge basketball goes 2-0 in section play Tuesday

Photo by Carol Colby

cowgirls hold hawley to nine first-half points
​Cowboys score 86 on the road at egf

• Robert Wanek Jr.

The Breckenridge basketball program kept rolling on Tuesday, as the boys and girls teams picked up Section 8AA victories over East Grand Forks and Hawley, respectively. The Cowboys are now 8-3 on the season, while the Cowgirls’ record is 9-3. 

The girls team avenged one of its three losses, an 18-PT road drubbing at Hawley on January 21st. They did so with lockdown defense in a 57-39 home win, marking the sixth time they’ve allowed less than 40 points in a contest. The halftime score was 22-9 and Hawley made multiple second-half runs but couldn’t climb within single digits, trailing by 24 at one point. 

Key three-point plays by Jude Held, Abby Johnson, and Grace Conzemius in the second half kept the Nuggets at bay. Breckenridge led by 14 with 7:30 remaining when Conzemius, a player typically anchored to the post, missed a wide open three. The offensive rebound made its way back to her and when her defender backed off she let it fly again, drilling a triple and closing the door on the visitors. 

Scoring leaders for Breckenridge were Conzemius (15 pts), Held (13 pts), Carcie Materi (10 pts), and Camryn Kaehler (9 pts). 

Hawley was the no. 2 seed in Section 8AA North heading into the game behind Crookston, a team Breckenridge defeated on the road in overtime to open the season. The Cowgirls were ranked no. 3 in the south side, trailing Fergus Falls and Pelican Rapids. Seeds 3-6 in the south are separated by just three QRF points in a tight pack including Barnesville, Perham, and Menahga. 

The Cowboys won handily over the Green Wave, 86-68, behind 21 first-half points from Cooper Yaggie. He finished with 25 points, followed by Jonah Christensen’s 18, and Anthony Conzemius’ 16. Junior Perez continued his improved play on offense, scoring 11 points and grabbing six boards from the point guard position. Reese Pederson scored six.

Junior Jack Johnson played his way up to varsity with some strong performances, seeing his first run in the second half. Sophomore Cameron Nieto, Breckenridge’s newest player from Adrian, Michigan, made his junior varsity debut and scored some nice buckets off the bounce. 

The Cowboys host Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Cowgirls host Barnesville in the same time slot Friday as the section continues to shake itself out down the home stretch.