The Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball team led by seven points at halftime, but Barnesville tightened its defense in the second half and shut down the Pirates on their way to a 48-40 victory in a Section 8AA matchup at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
FIRST HALF
Crookston started the game with a three-pointer by Halle Nicholas before Barnesville countered with five points for a 5-3 lead. Crookston’s Madi Bruggeman made a basket to tie the game before Barnesville made a three-pointer for an 8-5 lead with 12:37 remaining in the half. Crookston responded in a big way as they went on a 13-2 run behind six points from Chloe Boll, five points from Halle Nicholas, and two points from Grace Boll for an 18-10 lead with 4:42 left in the half. Barnesville finished the half on a 5-2 run, and Crookston took a 22-15 lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF
Barnesville Coach Bill Gottenborg has won over 700 games in his illustrious career, and you knew he was probably going to tweak some things in the second half. The Trojan players ratcheted up their defensive pressure, which stifled the Crookston offense.
Barnesville scored the first five points of the half to get within a 22-20 deficit. Crookston’s Grace Boll made a three-pointer before Barnesville’s Anika Cossette made a three-pointer, and Jovie Marshall (Coach Gottenborg’s granddaughter) made a basket to tie the game at 25. Crookston’s Grace Boll made another three-pointer before the Trojans’ Alexis Bontjes answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 28. Crookston regained the lead with a Bruggeman free throw, only to have Barnesville respond with six points as three different players scored for a 33-29 lead halfway through the half. Crookston’s Bruggeman converted a three-point play, and the teams exchanged baskets, and the Pirates were within a 35-34 deficit after a Brooklyn Waldal basket with 7:40 to go in the game. Barnesville took over the game while taking advantage of Crookston turnovers and went on a 13-0 run over two-plus minutes for a 48-34 lead with 5:09 to go in the game. Barnesville went to the bench the rest of the game and didn’t score a point in the final five minutes, but Crookston was held scoreless for almost seven minutes until Morgan Boll scored with 51 seconds left. Nicholas followed with a steal and a layup, and Morgan Boll finished the game with a basket with two seconds left, and Barnesville won the game 48-40.
Crookston drops to 7-18 on the season and will travel to Warroad on Friday to wrap up the regular season. Barnesville improves to 9-14 on the year.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Barnesville | 15 | 33 | 48 |
| Crookston | 22 | 18 | 40 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Misc. |
| Halle Nicholas | 10 | 5 | 2 steals |
| Chloe Boll | 8 | 4 | 1 assist |
| Grace Boll | 8 | 6 | 1 steal |
| Madi Bruggeman | 6 | 5 | 1 steal |
| Morgan Boll | 4 | 5 | 2 steals |
| Brooklyn Waldal | 4 | 3 | 4 assists/1 steal |
| For Barnesville | Points |
| Aubryn Hinsz | 14 |
| Anika Cossette | 8 |
| Jovie Marshall | 8 |
| Ashley Manual | 8 |
| Alexis Bontjes | 7 |
| Allison Axness | 3 |
