CROOKSTON OUTLASTS DGF IN SECTION 8A MATCHUP

The Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball team used an 8-0 in the middle of the second half and they hit free throws down the stretch to beat Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 67-52 in a big Section 8AA game played at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
Crookston had a great start to the game using their defense to spark an 11-2 lead over five minutes into the game.  The run started when Emma Borowicz had a steal, was fouled and made one free throw.  Borowicz stole the ball again, was fouled and made two free throws for a 3-0 lead.  After a DGF basket, Rachel Hefta had an offensive rebound and scored and a minute later she added another basket for a 7-2 lead.  Gretchen Theis kept the run going with a basket and Hayden Winjum was fouled and made two free throws for an 11-2 Pirate lead with 12:23 left in the half.  “We came out ready to go and made some plays,” said Pirate Coach Darin Zimmerman. “We had hustle plays and Emma made some good reads and Hayden did a great job and Kylie (Solheim) did a great job.” The lead would stay in the two to three possession area and Crookston took a 27-21 lead into halftime.  “It was a great first half and I thought we played well defensively,” said Coach Zimmerman. “Our offense was working better with 27 points, I think that is what we scored in the Barnesville game.  The girls came out ready to play tonight.”
DGF came out strong in the second half with a 6-2 run to cut Crookston’s lead to 29-27, but the Pirates responded in a big way with back-to-back three-pointers from Dani Boyle and Theis for a 35-27 lead.  “They were really important plays by two good players,” said Coach Zimmerman talking about the three-pointers. “They are two solid players that made some big shots.” DGF chipped away at the deficit over the next five minutes and trailed 38-35 with 9:41 left in the game.  20 seconds later DGF coach Tom Critchley Jr. received a technical foul for complaining about a foul against his team and Crookston’s Kylie Solheim made both technical free throws to spark an 8-0 run. On the same possession, Solheim added an offensive rebound and basket and a minute later she scored again for six straight points.  Gretchen Theis finished off the run with two free throws and Crookston led 46-35 with 7:17 left in the game.  “That was a turning point in the game and Kylie had a nice game and some of the things she did might not show up in the box score and played well,” said Coach Zimmerman.  Crookston’s Borowicz picked up her fourth foul and had to sit a large part of the second half and that allowed DGF to climb back within a five-point deficit with 6:22 remaining, but Rachel Hefta scored in the paint and Hayden Winjum scored three straight points and Crookston pulled away the rest of the way for a 67-52 victory. “It was nice to see the girls finish out the game and we had some easy points because we had our heads up and we were shooting well from the line,” said Coach Zimmerman. “It was a nice win and a good team effort.”  Crookston made 31 of 45 free throws in the game while DGF made 9 of 14 and three DGF players fouled out of the game.
Crookston improves to 7-1 on the year and will play Coach Zimmerman’s Alma mater Rothsay on Thursday, December 27 at Concordia College.  DGF drops to 5-4 on the year.
J.V. – DGF won 42-34

Crookston Girls Basketball vs DGF

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