March 15, 2007 at 8:48 a.m.
Viking girls lose to Rogers again
Viking girls lose to Rogers again
The Royals outscored the Vikings 22-7 in the 10 minutes surrounding the halftime intermission, building a lead of as much as 19 points. The Vikings fought back gamely, cutting the lead to eight with four minutes remaining, but were unable to get any closer.
The game was reminiscent of last year's section championship game, when the Royals defeated the Vikings 59-43. In both contests, Rogers pulled out to a 14-8 lead midway through the first half. In the 2006 victory, Rogers built a 25-8 halftime advantage on the way to winning a berth in the State Tournament.
This time, Rogers jumped out to a 6-0 lead before junior Kristen Robatcek put the Vikings on the board with a three from the left wing at 14:50. A minute later, senior Tiffany Good cut Rogers' lead to one with a 10 foot jumper. At 12:40, Megan Scherer's quick baseline move netted a layup, making the score 10-7.
Robatcek's freethrow made it 12-8, before the Royals 9-2 run in the next five minutes. Only Gabrielle Olson's basket interrupted the Rogers scoring streak.
It was 21-10 before the Vikings rebounded with five in a row. Olson stole the ball and hit Robatcek, in stride, for a fast break hoop at 5:40. A half minute later, Robatcek added a freethrow. With less than four minutes left, Olson found Good open for an eight foot pull-up, closing the gap to 21-15.
It seemed like the Vikings had gained the momentum, but they failed to score for the rest of the half. Meanwhile, the Royals scored five, including a last-second three that pushed their lead back into double figures. The Vikings went to the locker room trailing 26-15.
Things went from bad to worse in the first few minutes of the second half. Megan Scherer's two from the lane at 16:00 were the only Viking points. Meanwhile, Rogers' fast paced passing game yielded numerous scoring opportunities. The Royals took advantage as they moved to a 36-17 lead with 14 minutes left.
The Vikings regrouped and crawled back into contention over the next 10 minutes. "These girls haven't quit all year and I knew they would play hard the whole game," said North Branch head coach Dan Schindler.
The Olson to Robatcek connection paid dividends in the next two minutes. Olson found Robatcek open on consecutive possessions and Robatcek delivered from 12 feet and beyond the arc to make it 36-22 with 11:55 to go.
Rogers extended its defense to try to stop Robatcek's outside shooting. Good used the opportunity to drive the lane, score and complete a three point play at 11:31. The margin was 15 points (40-25) before Robatcek dropped two freethrows and Good scored on a nifty reverse layup at the 7:30 mark.
Coach Schindler's team did everyhing it could to extend the game. They committed numerous fouls, hoping that Rogers wouldn't convert from the line as often as the Vikings could score from the floor. It worked for a while. With 3:53 left, NB had closed the gap to 43-35.
Hoping to create some quick turnovers, the Vikings pressured the Royals all over the court. But, Rogers was too quick. They started hitting from the line and breaking the press for some easy hoops. Randi Zentner scored the last two points of the game and of her high school career with 57 seconds on the clock. That basket made the final score Rogers 54, North Branch 40.
"We knew going in we would have to play an almost perfect game to beat them. They are the defending section champs and had 22 wins this season," Schindler said. "All of their players from last year's team returned.
"The real difference in the game was that Rogers shot the ball much better. We actually shot 13 more shots than them and had three fewer turnovers. But, they shot 50 percent for the game while North Branch shot 30 percent," Schindler concluded.
North Branch 15 25 40
Rogers 26 28 54
North Branch Scoring
Kacie Ramberg 2
Tiffany Good 10
Randi Zentner 2
Kristen Robatcek 18
Megan Scherer 4
Gabrielle Olson 4
Total 40
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