The Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball team found out whey the Rock Ridge (co-op of Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert) Wolverines have been ranked in state half the season in Class AAA because they used a 21-0 run in the first half and a 16-0 in the second half on their way to a 77-34 victory in a game played at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
FIRST HALF –
Crookston had a solid start to the game by outscoring Rock Ridge 6-3 with four points from Madi Bruggeman and two free throws by Grace Boll. Rock Ridge decided to go with a full-court press and the outstanding defense combined with lights-out shooting led to a 21-0 run over a five minute span. The outstanding junior guard Lexi Lamppa led the way with 16 points, Maija Lamppa had a three-pointer, and Anna Westby added a basket for a 24-6 lead with 11:28 left in the half.
Crookston stopped the run with a Brooklyn Waldal free throw. Crookston would make a basket before Rock Ridge would answer with anywhere from three to six points, and that continued the rest of the half, and the Wolverines took a 54-20 lead into halftime. Lexi Lamppa and Westby each scored 20 points apiece in the first half to lead Rock Ridge.
SECOND HALF –
If there was any thought of a comeback by the Pirates, that went out the window in the first five minutes of the second half as Rock Ridge started the half on a 16-0 run. Lexi and Maija Lamppa chipped in seven points each, and Westby added a basket for a 70-20 lead with 13:30 left in the game. Crookston’s first basket of the half came when Chloe Boll made a basket over five minutes into the half. Rock Ridge took the starters out and went to the bench for the rest of the game. When the clock hit nine minutes left in the game, Rock Ridge led 74-28 and that forced running time the rest of the game. Only nine points were scored in the final nine minutes of the game and Rock Ridge rolled to a 77-34 victory.
Crookston had 32 turnovers in the game and Rock Ridge scored 34 points off turnovers. Crookston was 0-9 on three-point attempts.
Crookston drops to 4-8 on the year and will host Hermantown on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Rock Ridge improves to 9-4 on the year and will take on East Grand Forks on Saturday.
J.V. – Rock Ridge 57-45
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Rock Ridge | 54 | 23 | 77 |
| Crookston | 20 | 14 | 34 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Assists/steals |
| Chloe Boll | 8 | 9 | |
| Madi Bruggeman | 8 | 4 | |
| Grace Boll | 7 | 6 | 3 blocks/1 steal |
| Brooklyn Waldal | 5 | 4 | 2 assists/2 steals/2 blocks |
| Joey Nesseth | 4 | 2 | 2 assists/1 block |
| JNaomi Johnson | 2 | 6 | 1 assists/1 block |
| For Rock Ridge | Points |
| Lexi Lamppa | 27 |
| Anna Westby | 22 |
| Maija Lamppa | 16 |
| Ava Dahl | 4 |
| Liz Fultz | 3 |
| Yazmin Vazquez | 2 |
| Megan Zika | 2 |
