The Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball team used a great start to the first half and another great start to the second half and held on to beat the Coon Rapids Cardinals 74-69 in the third-place game of the Fergus Falls Holiday tournament. “It was a fun and entertaining game,” said Pirate Coach Darin Zimmerman. “We had a pretty good game and had a nice win.”
FIRST HALF –
Crookston started the game strong and went on a 12-3 run in the first three minutes of the game. Emma Borowicz started the game with a three-pointer and after a Coon Rapids three-pointer, she followed with a basket which the Pirates followed with a full-court press. The press worked to perfection as they forced two turnovers and Hayden Winjum made back to back baskets after steals from Emma Borowicz and Dani Boyle. Dani capped the run with a three-pointer for a 12-3 Crookston lead. “It was a great start to the game and we came out hungry,” said Coach Zimmerman. “We were playing well offensively and defensively and that was nice to see.” Coon Rapids settled down and applied a full-court press and hit the offensive glass while slowly chipped away at the Pirate lead and with over seven minutes left in the half Crookston’s lead was 23-21. “We struggled boxing out,” said Coach Zimmerman. “Coon Rapids was tall, but we weren’t pushing them back today. We might have been in a good position, but we weren’t using our bodies to push them back.” Crookston responded with a 14-4 run with two points from Jenna Coauette, Gretchen Theis, a Kasey Cwikla free throw, three points from Halle Winjum, a three-pointer from Abby Borowicz and a three-point play from Boyle for a 37-25 lead with over two minutes left in the half. Crookston took a 43-34 lead into halftime. “I thought we played better yesterday and were trailing at halftime,” said Coach Zimmerman. “It didn’t seem like we had a nine-point lead. Overall I was happy with the effort.”
SECOND HALF –
Crookston had a great start to the second half with a 10-0 run with the first seven points scored by Emma Borowicz and Dani Boyle added a three-pointer for a 53-34 lead just over two minutes into the half. “We were moving the ball around well and Emma came out strong and played a great game for us today,” said Coach Zimmerman. “That might have been the best stretch of basketball we have played this year.” Crookston led 56-42 when they went on a 6-0 run with four points from Emma Borowicz and a basket from Dani Boyle for a 62-42 lead almost halfway through the second half. The Pirates led 70-54 with 3:33 remaining and Coone Rapids put together a furious rally with a full-court press that led to steals and quick baskets but the comeback fell short and Crookston held on for a 74-69 victory. “It was a good win and a nice way to bounce back after a disappointing loss against Hawley on Friday,” said Coach Zimmerman. “It was a fun tournament and Fergus Falls did a great job hosting the tournament. They are a class act and we saw some good competition and that is why we decided to come here to play.”
After the game, Crookston’s Emma Borowicz was named to the all-tournament team. “Emma was outstanding today,” said Coach Zimmerman. “She played a great game and shot the ball well and she deserved the honor.”
Crookston improves to 8-2 on the year. Coon Rapids drops to 1-8.
J.V. – Fergus Falls beat Crookston 32-31 in the championship game. Ally Perreault and Amelia Overgaard were named to the all-tournament team.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Coon Rapids | 34 | 35 | 69 |
| CROOKSTON | 43 | 31 | 74 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebound | Steals/Assists |
| Emma Borowicz | 26 | 4 | 4 assists/2 steals |
| Dani Boyle | 11 | 5 | 3 steals |
| Gretchen Theis | 8 | 2 assists | |
| Hayden Winjum | 7 | 3 assists/3 steals | |
| Kasey Cwikla | 7 | ||
| Halle Winjum | 7 | 6 | 4 assists |
| Abby Borowicz | 3 | ||
| Jenna Coauette | 3 | ||
| Emma Boll | 2 |
| For Coon Rapids | Points |
| Jenny Ntambwe | 27 |
| Kylie Hettwer | 16 |
| Syd Kehr | 8 |
| Grace Henneman | 6 |
| Macy Holland | 5 |
| Ella Giorgi | 4 |
| Beni Kalala | 3 |
