January 10, 2008 at 8:27 a.m.
Viking girls take two of three in Simley Holiday Tournament
Viking girls take two of three in Simley Holiday Tournament
Thursday, the Vikings beat St. Paul Academy 72-49. Friday, the Vikings lost to Simley 47-44. Saturday, NB used a strong second half to beat St. Paul Highland Park 56-52 to grab third place.
"This was a great tournament for us," said Viking head coach Dan Schindler. "We played three good teams and got back to playing some good basketball. I was looking for improvement and certainly did see that." The North Branch JV team went 3-0 and won the JV tournament for the second straight year and ran its season record to 8-2.
North Branch 35 37 72
St. Paul Academy 21 28 49
"For the first time this season, we were able to come out and get an early lead and dictate tempo," Schindler commented. The Vikings used a full-court press most of the game, forcing SPA turnovers which netted the Vikings some easy shots.
"Our three players with varsity experience from last year really came through for us scoring," Schindler continued. "Kristen Robatcek, Ashley Johnson, and Megan Scherer scored 17, 16, and 16 respectively. They all scored early to get us going and it helped make everyone else feel comfortable."
Johnson also had 11 rebounds and Robatcek added seven assists. Freshman point guard Kendra Norman also had seven assists for the Vikes. NB led 35-21 at halftime and continued to control the game in the second half, pulling away for a 23-point win.
"This win kind of got the monkey off our back and made us relax for the rest of the tournament," the coach said.
SCORING SUMMARY
North Branch Scoring
Cori Fairbanks 4
Kristen Robatcek 17
Kristen Kaminski 2
Megan Scherer 16
Rebecca Collins 6
Rikki Beaver 5
Amanda Sylla 6
Ashley Johnson 16
Totals 72
North Branch vs. Simley
In the second round North Branch played host Simley, the eventual tournament winner. The tall and talented Spartans start three girls taller than six feet and sport a 10-2 record. "We were overmatched in some areas," Schindler explained, "but our girls really played a great first half of basketball. It was our best half of team basketball this season. We took care of the basketball on offense and limited them to one shot each time down the floor on defense. Everyone really picked up their defense and we led at halftime 24-14.
"We've had to put some girls in positions and situations that they have really not been ready for. But, I think our young girls are starting to understand what we want them to do and we can be a good team when all five players on the court are on the same page.
"I really thought sophomore Amanda Sylla had a great game, especially on the defensive end of the court. She had to defend much taller girls and came away with six big steals," Schindler added.
Simley outscored the Vikings 33-20 in the second half and had a 43-39 lead with about a minute to go. Another sophomore, Jessica Audette, hit a big three pointer to get the Vikings back to within a point. After another basket by Simley, Audette hit another long shot to get NB back to within one at 45-44.
"Jessica gives us needed energy and she is all over the floor on defense. We had to foul at the end, but did get off a three pointer at the end that just fell short that would have tied the game. It was a great effort against an excellent team," Schindler said.
SCORING SUMMARY
North Branch 24 20 44
Simley 14 33 47
North Branch Scoring
Cori Fairbanks 4
Kristen Robatcek 19
Jessica Audette 9
Kendra Norman 4
Ashley Johnson 8
Total 44
NB vs. Highland Park
In the third place game, the Vikings played from behind most of the contest. Trailing by six at halftime, NB fought back, but was still down by one point with less than a minute remaining. "Freshman Kendra Norman made two huge free throws with 45 seconds left to give us a 53-52 lead, one we would not give up," the Viking coach said.
"It was great to play in another close game and come out on the winning side. We are getting different people to step up each night and give us good minutes. Kristen Kaminski really played well and did a great job of feeding Ashley Johnson in the post area," Schindler continued. "Ashley had the best offensive game of her career, with 26 points and seven rebounds. Jessica Audette used her hustle to run down nine rebounds and Kristen Robatcek had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help the cause.
"We are getting better and these two wins should really help our confidence going into the new year. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are showing signs of improving and I am looking forward for this team to continue to get better in the coming weeks," Schindler concluded.
SCORING SUMMARY
Highland Park 31 21 52
North Branch 25 31 56
Kristen Robatcek 15
Onalee Yousey 2
Jessica Audette 3
Kendra Norman 6
Megan Scherer 4
Ashley Johnson 26
Total 56
The Vikings host Columbia Heights Friday January 11 and travel to Robbinsdale-Cooper Tuesday, January 15. Both conference games begin at 7:15
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