The Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball team led by one at halftime and used a strong second half to beat the Virginia Blue Devils 53-42 in a game played in Virginia.
The first half was back and forth with Crookston leading for most of the half and Crookston led 21-20. “We had several opportunities to stretch the lead to three or four possessions, but we didn’t and we led for a majority of the half,” said Pirate Coach Darin Zimmerman. “It was nice to take the lead into halftime, but we needed to be more patient and we needed to work the ball around more to be successful.”
In the second half, Crookston played better offensively and was able to slowly build on their lead. “We were running the floor and our spacing was better and we had some transition points,” said Coach Zimmerman.
Crookston continued to pull away and won the game 53-42 and Emma Borowicz (19 points) and Gretchen Theis (12 points) were the two Pirates scoring in double-figures. “Gretchen played well in the second half and fought some foul trouble early,” said Coach Zimmerman. “Emma played great in the final eight minutes of the game on the offensive and defensive ends. We weren’t as efficient as we were hoping in the second half, but after a long bus ride today we shook it off and played better in the second half to get the win.”
Crookston improves to 10-2 on the year will continue their Iron Range trip with a game at Hibbing on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Virginia drops to 4-9 on the year.
J.V. – Crookston won 41-17
| 1 | 2 | Final | |
| Crookston | 21 | 32 | 53 |
| Virginia | 20 | 22 | 42 |
| Crookston | Points |
| Emma Borowicz | 19 |
| Gretchen Theis | 12 |
| Kylie Solheim | 9 |
| Hayden Winjum | 4 |
| Dani Boyle | 3 |
| Emma Boll | 2 |
| Kasey Cwikla | 2 |
| Rachel Hefta | 2 |
| Virginia | Points |
| Rylee Kelly | 14 |
| Lexi Tryg | 11 |
| Rian Anne | 7 |
| Anna Frank | 3 |
| Kelsey Knutson | 3 |
| Sophie Christofferson | 3 |
| Halee Zorman | 1 |
