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The North Branch girls basketball team picked up its 15th and 16th wins of the year in two more close conference contests. Tuesday, the Vikings traveled to Fridley and won 47-46. On Friday, February 3, North Branch beat Cooper 54-51 at home.

North Branch at Fridley

The game was very close until Fridley made a run near the end of the half to take a 30-21 halftime lead. 

“We just had trouble shooting in the first half.  We were 3-10 from the line and 9-31 from the field.  We had gotten good shots, but we just weren't making them.   We also thought we had given Fridley too many easy baskets and we made some adjustments at halftime,” said North Branch head coach Dan Schindler.

The Vikings played much better in the second half. Six minutes into the half, North Branch had tied the game. It was close for the rest of the contest.

“The difference in the last 18 minutes was our defense,” Schindler continued.   “We held them to 16  second half points. The strength of this team is still its defense and that’s what wins games for us.”

The game was tied with half a minute left and the Vikings controlled the ball. A turnover gave it to the Tigers, who held the ball for 20 seconds, when Fridley returned the favor.

With 10 seconds remaining, the Vikings took possession and got the ball to half court and called their last timeout with 3.7 seconds left. 

The inbounds pass went to Gabrielle Olson and she took it to the hoop and was fouled with .6 seconds left.  She made the first freethrow to seal the win for the Vikings.  

“We shot the ball much better in the second half and made some big freethrows in the second half to secure the win.   We had Gabrielle (Olson) miss the second free throw on purpose to start the clock. 

“Marlayna (Graff) and Kristen (Robatcek) really picked us up scoring in the second half.  We have been behind at halftime in a lot of our wins this year, so the girls do a great job of having confidence they can come back,” Schindler continued.

Graff had seven rebounds and Olson grabbed eight rebounds and six assists to lead the Vikings.

Scoring Summary

North Branch 21 26 47

Fridley 30 16 46 

Kacie Ramberg ................ 3

Tiffany Good ................ 10

Randi Zentner ................ 2

Kristen Robatcek.............. 9

Marlayna Graff ................ 18

Gabrielle Olson ................ 5

Total 47

North Branch vs. Cooper

This was another hard fought game that was close the whole way. Neither team was able to pull away and North Branch led 27-25 at halftime. 

The Vikings lost Kristen Robatcek to an injury early in the second half. She was the leading North Branch scorer (14 points) when she left the game.

“I really credit the rest of the girls for stepping it up and giving us great minutes.  Randi Zentner, Ashley Johnson and Lacee Scherer all stepped in and played great and Kacie Ramberg did a great job at the point on our defense,” said coach Schindler. 

“In the end, our girls just find ways to win close games.  Gabrielle Olson made critical freethrows down the stretch to secure another tough win for the Vikings,” the coach added. 

Olson had another strong floor game with nine rebounds and 10 assists. Tiffany Good added eight rebounds.

 Scoring Summary

North Branch 27 27 54

Cooper 25 26 51

Kacie Ramberg ................. 2

Tiffany Good ................. 8

Kristen Robatcek............... 14

Jill Vanden Heuvel.............. 3

Marlayna Graff ................. 9

Gabrielle Olson ................. 18

Total 54  

The win moves the Vikings to 16- 5  overall and 7 - 3 in the conference. The Viking girls have outscored their conference opponents only 544- 539 yet have won 7 games.  “We certainly know how to keep the fans interested,” Schindler commented. 

North Branch hosts Spring Lake Park Friday, February 10. The Vikings beat SLP earlier in the year 60-52 after trailing by five at halftime.

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