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Rivalries are rivalries! You can throw out the record book when these two teams take the floor. You just never know what’s gonna happen when when these traditional rivals take the court. It’s tough for either team to sweep the season’s games....And, all those other cliche’s.

As worn as they sound, they really seem to be true when it comes to North Branch-Chisago Lakes games. Tuesday, February 21 veteran Viking head coach Dan Schindler loaded his team on the bus and took the trip down County Road 14 to CLHS.

First year Wildcat coach Carl Pierson and his team, fresh off a big win at Grand Rapids, played a tough, physical game and earned a come-from- behind 44-41 win.

Both teams seemed nervous at the start of the game and turnovers were more common than shots in the first few minutes. As in the January meeting at North Branch, the Wildcats got off to an early lead. Junior Center Jess Peterson’s layup three minutes into the game put the first two on the board. At 14:30, Peterson gave the ‘Cats a 4-0 lead with a 10 foot jumper.

The Vikings got on the board when senior Jill Vanden Heuvel scored on a putback a minute later. After junior Tiffany Good drove into the lane, the Chisago defense closed and she shoveled a pass to sophomore Kristen Robatcek who banked it in. The score was knotted at four with 13:00 on the clock.

A minute later, Wildcat sophomore guard Megan Corradi canned a 15 footer. Good responded with a jumper of her own and the score was 6-6.

A three minute scoring drought was followed by the first run of the game. Junior Jamie Tschida started it with a bucket at 9:10. Corradi scored on a pull-up jumper in the lane and from 15 in the next minute. Peterson hit two freethrows to complete the 8-0 run with seven minutes to go.

With the Wildcats leading 14-6, Peterson picked up her second foul and Pierson pulled her out of the game. With Peterson on the bench for the remainder of the half, North Branch found some space in the lane.

Good hit an eight footer at the six minute mark. Viking Junior guard Gabrielle Olson wound her way through the Wildcat defenders like a slalom skier looking for gold, on an end-to-end drive. Olson was fouled 45 seconds later on her next trip through the paint. She made both freethrows.

A Good jumper tied the score at 14 at the three minute mark. Neither team could score until Olson hit Good with a pass on an out-of-bounds play with 12 seconds remaining. Good dropped a short jumper to complete a 10-0 run and give the Vikings a 16-14 halftime lead.

Viking senior center Marlayna Graff opened the scoring in the second half on a feed from Olson. Senior Caitlin Cunningham made the score 18-17 with a three at 15:25. Graff hit two charity tosses 10 seconds later and added another at 14:30 to give the Vikes a 21-17 lead.

Two more Olson assists from out-of-bounds (one to Graff and one to Good) were sandwiched around a Courtney Skoog three for the Wildcats and the score was 25-20 with 11:40 to go. Peterson hit two more from the line to narrow the gap to two (25-22). Graff scored another inside basket on another Olson feed and Good dropped a long three to build the NB lead to 29-22.

A timeout gave Chisago a chance to re-group and Pierson’s scorers responded. Peterson converted a freethrow and followed that with a short jumper. Corradi’s three with 8:50 on the clock cut the Viking lead to 29-28.

A Graff three point play, a Good two point jumper and another Graff freethrow put the Vikings ahead by seven (35-28). Corradi hit a two, Olson converted a 1 and 1, Peterson scored inside on a nice feed from Skoog, who then brought the Wildcats to within two (37-35) with a rainmaker from the arc.

After Schindler called a timeout, Olson fed Good who gave the Vikings a four-point bulge with 3:30 to go. Corradi hit another two that Vanden Heuvel matched with 2:10 on the clock.

Peterson’s two freethrows cut it to two and Corradi tied it at 41 with 1:25 remaining. After several mad scrambles and more jump-ball calls than this reporter could keep track of, the Wildcats had their first lead of the half (43-41) with 15 seconds left when Kayla Schultz scored.

Kori Sells gave the ‘Cats a 44-41 lead with a freethrow with 7.1 to go. North Branch still had enough time to tie it and Olson took a long three in the closing seconds that caromed off the rim and the Chisago fans had a win to celebrate.

Game Summary

Chisago Lakes 14 30 44

North Branch 16 25 41

Chisago Lakes

Jess Peterson .....................15

Megan Corradi .....................15

Kori Sells ..................... 1

Courtney Skoog .................... 6

Jamie Tschida ..................... 2

Kayla Schultz ..................... 2

Caitlin Cunningham .............. 3

Total 44

Rebounding

Peterson 11, Corradi 6, Bowie 8

North Branch

Tiffany Good....................... 16

Kristen Robatcek.................. 2

Jill Vanden Heuvel................ 4

Marlayna Graff.....................13

Gabrielle Olson..................... 6

Total 41

Other Leaders

Graff - 15 rebounds

Olson - 9 assists

From a fan’s standpoint, this game had a lot to offer. It was nice to see a good crowd in the stands. Fans of both schools had plenty to cheer about and more than enough questionable calls to complain about over coffee the next day. It was great to watch the coaches adjust to the situations that arise during the contest. It’s always interesting to see players react to those same situations and watch their responses.

In this case, the fans got the chance to see two of the premier players in the area do what they do best. Jess Peterson, despite having to sit out with foul trouble had a huge influence on the game. She’s among the metro area leaders in scoring and rebounding and is an absolutely tenacious competitor. Gabrielle Olson does whatever is needed. She’s among the metro leaders in steals and assists. She must have had four or five assists on out-of-bounds plays, alone.

For the fans, the good news is that both these girls are juniors and, with a little luck, we’ll get to watch them play on the same floor at least twice more.

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