The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Basketball team came up just short on the road against the Pelican Rapids Vikings on Monday night, losing the game 61-54.
FIRST HALF –
The Vikings came out and knocked down two early three-pointers to take a 6-0 lead within the first two minutes of the game. Crookston would respond with a 7-2 run that included a Gunderson three, which cut the Vikings lead to 8-7 with 14:00 left in the opening half. The two teams traded baskets for a few minutes after that, and Crookston took their first lead of the half after a Halle Winjum layup and Abby Borowicz free throw made it 18-15. Pelican Rapids responded with an impressive 13-2 run over the next few minutes and reclaimed a 28-20 lead with 4:23 remaining in the half. Crookston would take a timeout and end the half on a 10-3 run to only trail 31-30 at the break. A big reason why the Pirates were able to stay in the game was their free throw shooting. The Pirates were 11-14 from the free throw line in the first eighteen minutes and senior Abby Borowicz had 14 points in the first half, while junior Halle Winjum was the other Crookston player in double figures with 10. Pelican Rapids was able to hit four three-pointers in the first half and were led by freshman Morgan Korf with 12 points.
SECOND HALF –
Crookston had a strong start to the half with Isabelle Smith connecting on a three to give the Pirates the lead at 33-32. Pelican Rapids would take control of the game with a 9-0 run putting Crookston in their biggest deficit at 41-33. The lead slowly continued to grow for the Vikings before they found themselves in front 49-37 with 9:00 left in the game. Crookston would counter with a 9-2 run that featured a Halle Winjum layup, free throws from Abby Borowicz, a Joey Nesseth layup, and a Chloe Boll three. That pulled Crookston to within five points trailing 51-46 with just under five minutes to play. After a Pelican Rapids layup, Abby Borowicz would answer with a layup of her own and that pulled Crookston back within five points now facing a 53-48 deficit with 3:29 remaining. The game turned in favor of the Vikings for the next two minutes, and Pelican Rapids was able to keep the ball away from the Pirates and make their free throws to extend the lead all the way to 59-48 with under a minute left to play. Isabelle Smith would come down the court and knock down a three, and after the Vikings split two free throws, Halle Winjum would also hit a three, making it 60-54 with twenty-five seconds left. Pelican Rapids didn’t have to shoot the ball as they could force the Pirates to foul them. However, the Vikings would force a quick shot at the other end, missing it, and giving the Pirates the basketball back. Winjum had a decent look at a three to make it a one-score game but it was off the mark, and the Vikings would knock down one more free throw and go on to win the game 61-54.
Crookston falls to 13-9 on the season with the loss. Pelican Rapids improves to 18-5 with the win.
FOR PIRATES COACH DARIN ZIMMERMAN’S COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW
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1st
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2nd
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Final
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CROOKSTON
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30 | 24 | 54 |
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Pelican Rapids
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31 | 30 | 61 |
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For CROOKSTON
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Points
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Rebounds
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Assists/Steals
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| Abby Borowicz | 22 | 9 | 2 assists |
| Halle Winjum | 15 | 8 | 3 assists/5 steals |
| Isabelle Smith | 6 | 1 | |
| Emma Gunderson | 3 | 4 | 2 assists |
| Joey Nesseth | 3 | 2 | |
| Chloe Boll | 3 | ||
| Libby Salentine | 2 | 2 | 1 assist |
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For Pelican Rapids
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Points
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| Morgan Korf | 19 |
| Ellie Welch | 16 |
| Anna Roisum | 13 |
| Hazel Haugrud | 6 |
| Kelsey Isaman | 4 |
| Grace Backstrom | 2 |
| Kia Nelson | 1 |
