CROOKSTON GIRL’S BASKETBALL BOUNCES BACK WITH WIN OVER DGF

The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Basketball team bounced back from Saturday’s loss with a 67-60 win over Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in a Section 8AA game played in Glyndon.

1st Half –
Hayden Winjum opened the scoring in the first half giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead. Maria Watt tied the game for Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton before Halle Winjum made a three-pointer putting Crookston ahead 5-2. Danielle Boyle and Hayden Winjum scored back-to-back baskets increasing the Pirates’ lead to 9-2. Boyle added a three-pointer after the Rebels Peyton Wilson scored expanding Crookston’s lead to 12-4. With just under ten minutes to play in the first half, Hayden Winjum scored another basket followed by two points from Kasey Cwikla, increasing the Pirates’ advantage to 20-9. Hayden Winjum tacked on two more free-throws continuing the visitor’s run making it 22-9. Maria Watt snapped Crookston’s 6-0 run with a basket cutting their deficit down to 22-11. Abby Borowicz answered with a three-pointer establishing a 14-point lead. Megan Thune countered with a three-pointer, but Hayden Winjum followed with another shot from beyond the arc, giving Crookston a 28-14 lead. Halle Winjum increased the Pirates’ advantage to 30-14 with a field goal before Jenna Coauette added a free-throw putting Crookston ahead 31-14. Mallory Leitner made the first of three-straight DGF three-pointers trimming the Rebels’ deficit down to 31-23. Madison Hoiland made a free-throw for the Pirates’ final point of the first half, but with a final three-pointer by Megan Thune, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton reduced a 17-point deficit down to 32-26 at halftime. “Three-point shooting,” explained Crookston head coach Darin Zimmerman when asked about the Rebels trimming the deficit going into halftime. “They shot the ball well during that closing stretch, and we didn’t do as good of a job defending the three-point line as we did to start the game. We were contesting everything and forcing turnovers (to start the game). Then they got kind of hot, and our defense probably wasn’t as good as it needed to be during that stretch.”

2nd Half –
Kasey Cwikla opened the second half scoring increasing the Pirates lead to 34-26. Mallory Leitner buried a three-pointer trimming Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton’s deficit down to five points, but Crookston responded with a 6-0 run taking a 40-29 lead. Jenna Coauette made a three-pointer matched by a triple from DGF’s Ashley Taves. Coauette sank another three-pointer giving Crookston a 46-34 lead. After Kasey Cwikla increased the Pirates’ lead back to 48-36, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton responded with a 7-0 run pulling within 48-43. With the Rebels trailing 50-45, Crookston’s Abby Borowicz made a three-pointer giving the Pirates a 53-45 lead. With under six minutes to play, Peyton Wilson made a three-pointer cutting DGF’s deficit down to 53-58. Kasey Cwikla answered back with a three-pointer before Abby Borowicz scored giving Crookston a 58-48 lead. “We talked about the word ‘toughness’ during our game and after our game on Saturday,” noted Zimmerman.”Tonight we showed a lot of toughness in the way that we played. They made some shots and were in their home gym, but we were mentally tough. Especially in those last five minutes.” With Crookston in front 60-50, DGF went on a 6-0 run to pull within four, but Abby Borowicz scored a clutch basket giving the Pirates a 62-56 advantage. DGF pulled within 64-60, but the Rebels were held scoreless down the stretch as Crookston prevailed for a 67-60 win. “I think the girls that have played are playing hard,” added Zimmerman. “With two very good players out, we still have a very good team. A team that, I still believe, could beat anyone in this section. We have to go out and do it. The kids that played in tonight’s game executed well, and for the most part, played a really good basketball game.”

Crookston improves to 17-4. The Pirates return to the court on Thursday when Crookston hosts Thief River Falls at 7:30 P.M. DGF falls to 6-14.