The Crookston Pirates girl’s basketball team is coming off a tremendous season which saw the team finish with a record of 23-6 with a Section 8AA semifinal appearance. A big reason for the team’s success was the play from Senior Emma Osborn, who shined all season, specifically from beyond the three-point line.
Osborn hit 102 three-pointers this past season shattering the previous single-season record of 72 for Crookston Pirates girl’s basketball. To put things into perspective, she finished her career with 122 three-pointers, which ranks 6th all-time in school history, and shows just how dominant of a season she had shooting the basketball.
One other accolade she accomplished this season was also tying the single-game record for made three-pointers of 7, which she did several times. According to her head coach Darin Zimmerman, she also could’ve easily broken the record if she had gotten more playing time. “We had such a great season as a team that in quite a few of those games we had a big enough lead where we could get other girls playing time,” said coach Zimmerman. “So ironically if we hadn’t been as good in some of those games, there is no doubt in my mind she would’ve broken that record more than once.”
Osborn started playing the game of basketball at a very young age, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. “I started back in kindergarten, and a fun fact is that I actually quit for an entire year because I got hit in the face with the ball one game,” said Osborn. “My friends ended up getting my back into the sport, and the rest was history from there. It’s become a sport I’ve loved.”
While Osborn has been playing the game all her life, her shooting skills really started to develop back in 9th grade. “I really started to shoot a lot in 9th grade while I was playing on the C team,” said Osborn. “I never really had a love for shooting, but I started to realize it was the strongest part of my game and I really wanted to put an emphasis on that.”
Coach Zimmerman is most proud of her development from last year to this year as a basketball player, and not just her ability to shoot the basketball. “Emma has always been a very strong shooter, that is one area that she really evolved in, and a skill set she always had,” said coach Zimmerman. “Specifically, she got much better at getting her shot off quickly. I don’t know if there was anyone in the state that had a quicker shot than she did this past year. All that to say, while she is a great shooter, she developed as a great basketball player as well over the years. She became a much better defender and was a pretty good rebounder for us as well. All around she became a better basketball player compared to a good scorer and shooter which may have been what she was a few years ago. I’m incredibly proud of the work she put in to get to that level and she stood out this year because of it.”
Another fun fact about Osborn and her shooting skills, is she like most shooters, can find her stroke in an instance. “There are sometimes where I will have the worst warmup ever, but as soon as we get into the game I shoot really well,” said Osborn. “One game that sticks out from this past year was against East Grand Forks. I think I scored 31 points that game, but in warmups, I could not hit anything. Similarly, I would sometimes shoot well in warmups and then have an off game. So, I don’t know why that was, but it was kind of funny how it would work like that.”
Osborn has also participated in tennis, softball, and Track & Field at one point or another over the years, but she says basketball along with tennis are the two that stand out. “Basketball and tennis are the two that have always hit closest to home,” said Osborn. “It’s interesting because basketball definitely has more stress on me, but I would say I’m much better at that than tennis. So, they both have their ups and downs.”
In a season with a lot of great accomplishments as a team, one of Osborn’s favorite memories happened before it even began. “I would go all the way back to this past summer and our trip to Wisconsin Dells as a team,” said Osborn. “I had never been there, and it was a great experience with the team. The other part would be just to have this one last season with the girls that I grew up playing with. That combined with all the success we had as a team and the season that I had just made this a very special year.”
Coach Zimmerman says his favorite memory of Osborn from this past season, and the thing that will always stick out is just how incredible her hot shooting streak was. “During her best stretch which was probably the middle of January to towards the end of the season, I will always remember thinking every time she shot the ball, I thought it was going in,” said Coach Zimmerman. “I was almost surprised when it wouldn’t go in. I don’t think I’ve ever had a player that consistent before as far as shooting the basketball from that distance. It just always seemed like it was going in and I’ll always remember that from this past season.”
While she may not be playing the game anymore, she does have advice for future Crookston Pirate girl’s basketball players, and younger shooters in the area. “For me, it was all about getting into the gym and putting the time in,” said Osborn. “You have to put time into it if you want to be successful, and if your shot isn’t where you want it or if you’re missing lots of shots, figure out why and spend time working on correcting it. That is when you will start to see success.”
Osborn is still deciding where she would like to attend college in the fall, but as of now, she does not see herself pursuing basketball at the next level. She plans on going into veterinary school and focusing on academics while in college to help get her to where she would like to be in life. One thing is for sure, she will be greatly missed from the Crookston Pirates girl’s basketball team next season.
