The Crookston Pirates Girls Basketball team hosted the Moorhead Spuds on Thursday night for the two teams’ first game of the season. The Pirates started strong and rallied late, but Moorhead did just enough in between to hang on to a 48-43 victory in a game played in Crookston.
FIRST HALF –
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early, as it took over two minutes before a Pirates free-throw from Halle Winjum opened the scoring. Halle Winjum scored the first five points for the Pirates to give them the early lead. “For Halle specifically she has such a strong intelligence of the game,” said Pirates Coach Darin Zimmerman. “She does a great job of having a short memory and it’s something she has been able to do for a long time.” Moorhead countered with a couple of baskets to tie things at 5-5 with 13 minutes to play in the first half. Emma Osborn proceeded to splash in a triple after a Hayden Winjum steal and Crookston reclaimed the lead 8-5. The Pirates pressure forced Moorhead into several turnovers in the first half and allowed Crookston to get some easy baskets. The teams traded baskets before The Pirates Jenna Coauette splashed in a pair of threes to give Crookston a 22-18 lead with 2 minutes to play. Moorhead would go on a small run and score the last five points of the half and take a 23-22 lead into the break.
SECOND HALF –
The Spuds started red hot in the second half scoring seven straight points to take a 30-22 lead and force a Pirates timeout. “We never were able to get the lead back after that run,” said Pirates Coach Darin Zimmerman. “We played a clean first half but that wasn’t the case in the second half.” After the timeout, Jenna Coautte stopped the run knocking down a three-point shot to pull the Pirates within 5 at 30-25. Moorhead would extend the lead back to 8 at 34-26 after a few baskets before Emma Osborn would score back-to-back baskets to cut the Spuds lead to 34-30 with 11 minutes left. Moorhead once again extend the lead before a three-point play from Halle Winjum made the score 42-36 with 5:28 remaining. Ally Perreault would add a layup moments later, and after 1 free throw from Moorhead, Halle Winjum would counter with a three-pointer making the score 43-41 Moorhead with 3:00 minutes left to play. After Moorhead successfully hit one free throw, Hayden Winjum would slash to the paint for a basket plus the foul sending her to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game with 2:20 remaining. Winjum would miss the free throw, and Moorhead would sink four free throws down the stretch to secure the win 48-43. “I liked how we competed all night,” said Pirates Coach Darin Zimmerman. “There are some things we need to clean up but there is no doubt we competed, and I was proud of how hard they worked for all 36 minutes tonight.”
Crookston falls to 0-1 with the loss and will play again tomorrow night at home against Thief River Falls. The tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game can be Live Streamed on Kroxam.com! Moorhead begins the season 1-0 with the win.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Moorhead | 23 | 25 | 48 |
| CROOKSTON | 22 | 21 | 43 |
| For CROOKSTON | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Halle Winjum | 20 | 4 | 4 assists/3 steals |
| Jenna Coauette | 9 | 1 | 3 steals |
| Emma Osborn | 7 | 4 | 3 assists/3 steals |
| Hayden Winjum | 2 | 4 | 3 assists/4 steals |
| Ally Perreault | 2 | 2 | 3 steals |
| Libby Salentine | 2 | 1 | 2 steals |
| Abby Borowicz | 1 | 0 | 1 assist/3 steals |
| For Moorhead | Points |
| Katelyn Gulbranson | 13 |
| Grace Perry | 12 |
| Rosie Anderson | 11 |
| Korianna Rapley | 5 |
| Haley Oberg | 4 |
| Alicia Maddux | 3 |
