Crookston Girls Basketball uses strong second half to beat Fertile-Beltrami

The Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball team used an 11-0 run early in the second half to build and lead and held on to beat the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons 65-57 in a game played in the Fertile-Beltrami High School gymnasium.

FIRST HALF –
Fertile-Beltrami started the game strong and scored the first six points of the game, with Madison Stueness scoring four points and Tia Werpy adding a basket for a 6-0 lead. Crookston’s first points were scored by Chloe Boll almost four minutes into the game, and that sparked an 8-2 run with Madi Bruggeman, Joey Nesseth scoring baskets, and Chloe Boll added another, and the game was tied at 8-8 with 10:42 left in the half.
Fertile-Beltrami responded with five points for a 13-8 lead. A few minutes later, Fertile-Beltrami had a 17-13 lead after a Bailey Iverson basket, and Crookston’s Boll sisters answered with a Grace Boll three-pointer, a basket from Chloe Boll, and another three-pointer from Grace Boll for a 21-17 lead with 4:24 to go in the half. Fertile-Beltrami answered with baskets from Katrina Hitchen and Stueness to tie the game at 21. Chloe Boll made a free throw before Fertile-Beltrami answered with four points for a 25-22 lead. The Falcons ended the half with a 30-26 lead after an Iverson three-point play.

SECOND HALF –
Fertile-Beltrami’s Hitchen made a three-pointer to start the second half before Crookston responded with an 11-0 run in a two-minute span. The fun started with a Nesseth free throw. Chloe Boll added a basket before Bruggeman had back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 33. Naomi Johnson added a basket, and a Chloe Boll basket capped the run for a 37-33 Pirate lead with 13:02 left in the game. Fertile-Beltrami’s Tessa Opdahl ended the Crookston run with a three-pointer, and Hitchen added a basket to give the Falcons a 38-37 lead. The teams exchanged leads, and there was a tie at 29 before Crookston’s Bruggeman had back-to-back baskets again for a 43-39 lead. Crookston slowly built on the lead over the next several minutes, and after three free throws, Crookston led 57-47 with 5:15 remaining. Fertile-Beltrami didn’t go down easily as Stueness made a three-pointer only to have Crookston’s Brooklyn Waldal answer four straight points for a 61-50 lead with 2:26 to go in the game. Fertile-Beltrami’s Stephanie Miller made a three-pointer, and Werpy made two free throws to bring the Falcons within a two-possession deficit with two minutes to go. Crookston’s Nesseth and Naomi Johnson made two free throws apiece in the final 41 seconds to hold on to the lead and Crookston won the game 65-57.

Crookston improves to 2-2 on the year and will travel to East Grand Forks on Tuesday. You can hear the game on KROX Radio. Fertile-Beltrami falls to 2-3 on the year and will host Clearbrook-Gonvick on Friday.
J.V. – Fertile-Beltrami won 46-29

Bailey Iverson

Grace Boll

Katrina Hitchen

Naomi Johnson

Madison Stueness

Halle Nicholas