Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball senior captain Emma Osborn had the hot hand and made five three-pointers in the first half and finished with 22 points to lead her team to a 63-46 victory over the Roseau Rams in a Section 8AA game played in Crookston.
FIRST HALF –
Crookston started the game by winning the opening tip as Hayden Winjum tipped the ball and set up a fast break, and Abby Borowicz scored on a layup for a quick 2-0 lead. Roseau’s Anya Severson responded with a basket in the paint before Crookston’s Emma Osborn answered with a three-pointer. Severson scored in the paint again, but Crookston’s Osborn buried back-to-back three-pointers for an 11-4 lead just shy of three minutes into the game. “It was a good start for us with the girls ready to go,” said Pirate Coach Darin Zimmerman. “To get points right of the tip is a good way to start, and they tried to box-and-one on Halle Winjum, and Emma was left open and made some shots early to get us going.” A few minutes later, Crookston led 13-8 when they went on a 12-2 run with five points from Ally Perreault, three points apiece from Osborn and Borowicz, and a free throw from Halle Winjum for a 25-10 lead with over four minutes left in the half. After a Hannah Mooney basket, Crookston responded with seven straight points with another Osborn three-pointer and baskets from Hayden Winjum and Borowicz for a 32-12 lead with two minutes remaining, and it looked like Crookston was going to cruise to a win. “That was the kind of basketball we wanted to channel for the entire game,” said Coach Zimmerman. “Everything we were doing, we were getting steadily better at it.” The Roseau Rams said not so fast as they ended the half on an 11-2 run to get within a 34-23 deficit at halftime. “All those things we were doing well we didn’t do well in the final minutes,” said Coach Zimmerman. “Roseau played well during that stretch.”
SECOND HALF –
Ally Perreault scored the first four points of the half, and Halle Winjum added a bask to give the Pirates a 40-23 lead less than three minutes in the half. “That was exactly what we needed and played with a sense of urgency,” said Coach Zimmerman. Crookston took a 55-35 lead halfway through the second half, and it looked like they were poised to break the game open. “We were able to play more consistently in the second half, I thought,” said Coach Zimmerman. “We had the lead and were able to maintain a good cushion.” Once again, Roseau had other ideas. The Rams responded with five straight points with an Emma Bassingthwaite three-point play and a Hannah Mooney basket to get within a 15-point deficit (55-40) with 6:15 remaining. The teams would exchange baskets the rest of the way, and Crookston started to take time off the clock and scored the final four points of the game to win 63-36. “Roseau is an excellent team, they play hard and have good physicality,” said Coach Zimmerman. “I thought we turned the ball over too much, especially in the second half, and we have to make sure we take better care of the ball.”
Crookston improves to 14-3 on the year and will travel to East Grand Forks on Thursday and Roseau on Friday. Roseau drops to 14-4 on the year. “It is rare to see the same team twice in a week, but we will see them again on Friday in their new gym, so we are looking forward to another tough game at their place,” said Coach Zimmerman.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Roseau | 23 | 23 | 46 |
| CROOKSTON | 34 | 29 | 63 |
| For CROOKSTON | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Emma Osborn | 22 | ||
| Halle Winjum | 11 | 10 | 4 steals/2 assists |
| Ally Perreault | 11 | 4 | 3 assists |
| Hayden Winjum | 10 | 4 steals/2 assists | |
| Abby Borowicz | 7 | 5 | 3 assists |
| Amelia Overgaard | 2 |
| For Roseau | Points |
| Hannah Mooney | 12 |
| Anya Severson | 11 |
| Neveah Fletcher | 9 |
| Brooklyn Hulst | 5 |
| Kayla Bachleitner | 4 |
| Emma Bassingthwaite | 3 |
| Shavonda Bender | 2 |
