Crookston tops Senior High again
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Steve Gust
steve@page1publications.com
Kamille Wahlin proved she was the best player in the subsection. And the Pirates, behind Wahlin, proved that they are the best team in the subsection.
Crookston beat the Green Wave for the third time this season Saturday evening at Concordia College in Moorhead with an 85-68 victory in the subsection championship game.
With the win, Crookston takes a 27-1 record into the Section 8AA title game Friday at UMC.
Senior High ended another stellar season with a 22-7 record. It was the second time in as many years the Green Wave ended its season with a loss to Crookston, the top ranked team in the state.
In front of a good crowd at Concordia College, the Pirates made shots when they needed to most. As a team for the game, they made 60 percent of their 3-point shots, hit 53 percent overall and 90 percent of their free throws.
“They had a tremendous game,” Green Wave head coach Durene Frydenlund said. “It’s tough to beat a team that hit so many shots.”
Crookston blew open a close game late in the second half by making all 21 free throws and going 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.
All-state player Kamille Wahlin led the Pirates with 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Wahlin, who is headed to Iowa next season to play Division I basketball, hit two crucial shots in the game.
In a back-and-forth first half, she hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put the Pirates up by nine.
She added a key 3-pointer midway through the second half when the Green Wave cut the deficit to just three.
“That’s just the type of players she is,” Frydenlund said. “When we made a big play, she came back with one of her own. She refuses to lose.”
Wahlin wasn’t a one-player show. Teammate Molly Simmons led the Pirates with 29 points, and added nine rebounds.
“She had a career game,” Frydenlund said.
Chelsey Frydenlund led the Green Wave with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. The freshman made 12-of-14 of her free throws.
Ashley Mertens made 3-of-4 three-point shots and finished with 17 points.
Kate Warmack added 12 points and eight rebounds, but foul trouble prevented from being even more of a factor.
First round
Senior High 88
Frazee 62
Betsy Smith had one of her best games of the year to lead the Green Wave to an 88-62 win over Frazee in the first roud of the Section 8AA Tournament last Tuesday evening.
Smith made four 3-point baskets and finished with a team-high 20 points as the third seeded Wave topped the sixth seeded Hornets.
Senior High led 46-30 at the half before outscoring Frazee 42-32 in the second half.
The Green Wave hit 30 of 56 shots from the field, making 54 percent of their attempts in the game.
Chelsey Frydenlund (16 pts.), Kate Warmack (12 pts.) and Kacie Reardon (10 pts.) all added double figures in points for the Wave, who earned win no. 21 on the season.
Courtney Kallis led Frazee with a game-high 28 points. The Hornets finished the season at 16-10.
Second round
Senior High 47
Hawley 40
A little less than a week after Hawley beat Senior High in the final game of the regular season, the Green Wave returned the favor against the state-ranked Nuggets.
Warmack’s team-high 14 points led the Green Wave to a 47-40 victory in the Section 8A quartertfinals.
Hawley was able to contain the Wave’s potent up-tempo style of offense, but EGF found a way to win behind the strength of Warmack, a 6-foot-2 post player.
The Green Wave held a 22-19 first half lead before outscoring the Nuggets 25-21 in the final half of play.
The game stayed close in the second half until Smith hit a 3-point with a little more than two minutes remaining in the game, putting the Green Wave up 41-38.
Senior High made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Smith finished the game with 11 points.