by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Crookston High School girls basketball team dropped a pair of games earlier this week, falling at home to Red Lake County Central by a score of 76-64, before dropping a 74-69 road decision to Lake Park-Audubon Tuesday night.
Monday’s game against the Mutangs was the Pirates’ home opener and was a back-and-forth battle for most of the contest until the Mustangs pulled away for good in the second half.
“We played really well,” said Head Coach Jadin Hams. “We’ve been trying to get better every single day. Monday was the true proving point that we are getting better. It was a shootout until the very end.”
Hams said the teams passing and ball handling in general were much improved compared to the season-opening loss at Sacred Heart on Nov. 22.
“We knew there would be a press put on at some point and we did a nice job breaking it,” Hams said. “It didn’t go our way, but we did some things really well.”
Chloe Boll, 23, Grace Boll, 18, and Halle Nicholas, 10, all finished in double figures for the Pirates. RLCC was led by Aubrey Halvorson with 27 points. McKaelyn Frizzle, 16, Isabelle, Paradis, 14, and Alexa Chervestad, 14 also reached double digits for the Mustangs.
The Pirates were back in action less than 24 hours later in Lake Park against the Raiders. Tuesday night’s game was competitive to the end, with the Raiders using a late run to take the 74-69 win.
“Last night was a great game,” Hams said. “It came down to the last two minutes of the game. Rebounding, we dominated in the first half – second half we let it slip away. We were moving the ball well and breaking the press. It was a hard contact game. There were a lot of fouls that were not called. I pulled the girls aside and said there will be games like this.”
Free throw shooting was a strength for the Pirates Tuesday night, and it could be an asset for the Pirates if the team can consistently score from the foul line.
“We did really well at the free throw line,” Hams said. “We only missed two or three free throws the entire night.”
Chloe Boll again led the Pirates in scoring with 26 points. Madi Bruggeman scored a season-high 15 points. Grace Boll scored 12 and Nicholas scored 11.
Overall, Hams is pleased with the team’s growth through its first three games and noted that the entire roster is contributing.
“It’s kind of been everybody,” Hams said. “All 10 of them. All these girls are showing up and going 110 percent every day.”Scoring
1 2 T
RLCC 42 34 76
Crookston 35 29 64
Crookston – Chloe Boll 23, Grace Boll 18, Halle Nicholas 10, Madi Bruggeman 8, Brooklyn Waldal 5
Red Lake Co. Central – Aubrey Halvorsen 27, McKaelyn Frizzle 16, Isabelle Paradis 14, Alexa Chervestad 14, Keanna Landrus 5, Emma Hendrickson 3.
Scoring
1 2 T
Crookston 32 37 69
Lake Park-Audubon 34 40 74
Crookston – Chloe Boll 26, Madi Bruggeman 15, Grace Boll 12, Halle Nicholas 11, Brooklyn Waldal 3, Teagan Fanfulik 2.
Lake Park-Audubon – Kendra Nelson 41, Ellen Schauer 15, Ava Cucich 9, Gracie Olson 7, Brooke Ihry 3, Flynn Mattson 2, Molly Militto 2, Katelyn Smith 2, Ava Poegal 2.
