CROOKSTON GIRLS BASKETBALL USES 20-0 RUN TO BEAT EAST GRAND FORKS

The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Basketball team used a 20-0 run late in the first half to open up the game, and they cruised the rest of the way in a 60-35 victory in a Section 8AA game played in Crookston. 

FIRST HALF-
East Grand Forks came out strong and handled Crookston’s fullcourt pressure pretty well, and took a 2-0 lead on a Brynn Havis basket.  Crookston responded with a Halle Winjum three-pointer two minutes into the game for a 3-2 lead.  EGF’s Havis scored two more baskets to give the Wave a 6-2 lead.  “East Grand Forks was well prepared and was working the ball around,” said Pirate Coach Darin Zimmerman. “They were playing well, and we came out a little slow tonight.”  Crookston’s Osborn answered with a basket before the Green Wave’s Tyonna Garcia converted a three-point play four minutes into the game for a 9-5 lead. Crookston scored five straight points to take the lead at 10-9 with two free throws from Abby Borowicz and a three-pointer from Osborn.
The teams exchanged baskets for a few minutes, and Crookston had a 15-13 lead when East Grand Forks’ Kylee Mattison pulled up and made a six-foot jump shot in the paint to tie the game at 15 with 7:25 left in the half.  Mattison landed on someone’s foot on the play, rolled her ankle, and had to leave the game.  “I hope she is okay, she was having a good game and a good season,” said Coach Zimmerman. “Hopefully, she will be back soon.  We wish her a speedy recovery, and we will see her when we play in a couple of weeks. You never want to see a player get hurt.” At this point in the game, the Pirates took over by going on a 20-0 run over a six-minute span.  “I thought the injury slowed East Grand Forks, but I thought we were just starting to pick up our play before that,” said Coach Zimmerman.  The run started with a Halle Winjum three-pointer.  Halle scored 13 of the 20 points in the run, Osborn added five, and Borowicz added two for a 35-15 lead with 1:13 left in the half. “That was a big stretch for Halle, and she also did it on the defensive end to get us going,” said Coach Zimmerman. “She was looking to score and was hitting her shots, and she had a great game.” East Grand Forks’ Havis scored the final points of the half, and Crookston took a 35-17 lead into halftime. “It was a great finish to the half,” said Coach Zimmerman. “It took us a while to get us in a groove, but the final seven minutes were very good.”

SECOND HALF –
Borowicz started the scoring in the second half to give Crookston a 38-17 lead before East Grand Forks responded with an 8-0 run with back-to-back three-pointers from Alison Kovar and a basket from Havis to get within a 38-25 deficit less than four minutes into the half, and it looked like we were going to have a tight game. “We had some bad rotations on defense and let some of their better players get good looks,” said Coach Zimmerman.  Crookston had other ideas as Halle Winjjum buried a three-pointer and Hayden Winjum followed with a basket, and Crookston would pull away to take a 60-31 lead with 4:18 remaining.  Both teams started to go to the bench the rest of the game, and East Grand Forks scored the final four points, and Crookston won 60-35. “East Grand Forks has a nice team, and they play really good defense, and we are really pleased with how we played,” said Coach Zimmerman.  “It was nice to be back at home after being on the road for about a month.”

Crookston improves to 11-2 on the year and will host one of the top teams in Section 8A, the Badger/Greenbush-Middle River Gators on Saturday.  
East Grand Forks falls to 5-6 on the year.
J.V. – EGF won 51-31   C-Squad – EGF won 53-6

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