sports

HALLE WINJUM’S 20 SECOND HALF POINTS LEAD PIRATE GIRLS BASKETBALL PAST STEPHEN-ARGYLE

February 22, 2022

The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Basketball team used 20 second-half points from their sophomore guard Halle Winjum and stellar second-half defense to beat the Stephen-Argyle Storm 59-47 on Pirate senior night in a game played in Crookston.

FIRST HALF –
Crookston started the scoring with a Halle Winjum three-pointer before Stephen-Argyle responded with five straight points with a Greta Weberg three-pointer and a Grace Carslon basket in the paint for a 5-3 Storm lead a little over two minutes into the game.
Crookston responded with a 10-0 run with back-to-back three-pointers from Emma Osborn, an outstanding drive and scoop layup from Halle Winjum, and an Abby Borowicz basket for a 13-5 lead.
Stephen-Argyle stopped the Pirate run with a Riley Mooney basket and Josie Rivard had a nice bank shot in the lane to bring the Storm within a 13-9 deficit with less than six minutes left in the half. Crookston’s Abby Borowicz scored with a jump shot that kissed off the glass and in and was followed by a basket apiece from Hayden and Halle Winjum for a 19-9 lead with 4:10 to go. “I thought overall we played pretty good offense and defense in that stretch,” said Pirate Coach Darin Zimmerman. “Emma Osborn med some shots early for us to get us going, and that is always nice, especially early.” Stephen-Argyle controlled play the rest of the half and ended on an 11-2 run with seven straight points from Regan Swanson. After a Crookston timeout, Ally Perreault scored in the paint for Crookston, but Stephen-Argyle’s Mooney scored with 55-seconds left in the half. “It was a strong finish in the half for Stephen-Argyle,” said Pirate Coach Zimmerman. “We didn’t box out very well, and Stephen-Argyle hurt us on the board. We needed to rebound the ball better.” The Storm got the ball back, worked the ball around, moved the ball from one side of the court to the other, and found the 6’2 senior, Grace Carlson, in the block, and she scored as the buzzer sounded, and Crookston led 21-20 at halftime. “We executed that play well, we might have to put that away for another game,” said Storm Coach Heidi Carlson. “We played well at the end of the half, and Regan had a great game for us. She played a half in the J.V. game and had a nice game, and that carried over to the varsity game.”

SECOND HALF –
Crookston led 34-30 over five minutes into the half when they went on a 14-3 run sparked by two three-pointers from Emma Osborn, a Halle Winjum three-pointer, a basket from Hayden Winjum, and another basket from Halle Winjum for a 48-33 lead with 6:51 left in the game, forcing Stephen-Argyle to call a timeout.
They came out strong after the Storm timeout with a 10-2 run. Riley Mooney and Swanson had four points apiece, and Greta Weberg added a basket to get within a 50-43 deficit with four minutes remaining. Crookston’s Halle Winjum continued her dominance in the second half as she scored five straight points for her 27th point of the game to get the Pirate lead to 55-43. “She got into the flow and rhythm of the game and was terrific,” said Pirate Coach Zimmerman. “She finished particularly well tonight and had a great game, especially in the second half.” In the last two minutes of the game, the teams exchanged baskets, and Crookston held on to a 59-47 victory. “We were able to limit their runs a bit in the second half, and that was nice to see because Stephen-Argyle is a very good team,” said Pirate Coach Darin Zimmerman. “We played well, and we were more consistent in the second half on the defensive end, and that was good to see. We needed to beat a very good team. It was a great win, and it isn’t an accident they have as many wins as they do.”
Crookston made 10 three-pointers in the game compared to Stephen-Argyle’s one. “They were hitting their threes tonight,” said Storm Coach Carlson. “They played tough defense and hit their shots in the second half. They are a good team, but I thought we saw a lot of good things from the girls tonight.”

Crookston improves to 21-3 on the year and will travel to Badger/Greenbush-Middle River on Thursday and Breckenridge on Friday to wrap up the regular season. Stephen-Argyle drops to 17-3 on the year and will take on Fertile-Beltrami on Thursday and Sacred Heart on Friday to wrap up the regular season. The Storm losses have come to Grafton (#4 in Class B North Dakota), Crookston (#2 or #3 in Section 8AA), and Badger/Greenbush-Middle River (who they are fighting for the #1 seed in Section 8A West).

J.V. – Stephen-Argyle won 44-37

	1st	2nd	Final
Stephen-Argyle	20	27	47
CROOKSTON	21	38	59

For CROOKSTON	Points	Rebounds	Assists/Steals
Halle Winjum	27	2	4 assists/2 steals
Emma Osborn	12		2 steals/2 assists
Hayden Winjum	9	6	3 steals/2 assists
Ally Perreault	7	4	2 steals
Abby Borowicz	4	3	4 assists