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Tuesday, January 8 the North Branch girls' basketball team lost at Irondale 51-43.

"We lost this game in the first half when we struggled putting the ball in the hoop," said Viking head coach Dan Schindler. "We were not patient enough on offense. We rushed our shots and didn't reverse the basketball enough."

NB hit only five of 25 from the field before the intermission. "It's not that we are bad shooters, it's more that we have to be patient on offense and take good shots.," Schindler continued. "At halftime we were able to get that point across and played a much better second half."

After trailing by nine at halftime, the Vikings came back to cut the margin to four points twice in the second half. But, both times Irondale countered with three pointers. "I was pleased with our second-half effort and hope that we can learn from this game and become a better team." Schindler said. "Kristen Robatcek had a great offensive game for us and had 26 points and 10 steals."

GAME SUMMARY

North Branch 14 29 43

Irondale 23 28 51

North Branch Scoring

Kristen Robatcek 26

Kristen Kaminski 2

Kendra Norman 4

Megan Scherer 2

Ashley Johnson 9

Total 43

Columbia Heights at NB

Friday, January 11

The Columbia Heights girls hit six consecutive three pointers in a three minute span in the second half at North Branch Friday, January 11. Yet, the Vikings easily weathered the storm on their way to an 82-55 win over the Hylanders.

Megan Scherer and Kendra Norman took turns scoring early and often for the Vikings. The pair scored six points each in the first game's first seven minutes, leading the home team to a 14-4 lead.

In the next nine, Kristin Kaminski, Cori Fairbanks, Kristen Robatcek and Norman combined for 18 points to lead the Vikings to a 24-6 run. That put the Vikings up 38-10 at halftime.

It was more of the same for much of the second half. Scherer and Ashley Johnson scored from inside. Norman and Robatcek led the Viking defense to a raft of steals and slashed through the Heights' defenders to score from everywhere.

Midway through the period, the Vikings were ahead 63-29 when the barrage of three's began. With nothing to lose, the Hylanders, who had already scored a trio of three's in the second half, started casting up triples at every opportunity.

Shots that had clanked off the rim for most of the game, suddenly found the range. A couple bounced hard off the board and through the goal. But, the last three found nothin' but net. Still, when the aeriel assault ended, the Vikings held a 69-47 lead. They regrouped and outscored the Hylanders 13-8 in the last four minutes to close out the victory.

"After struggling offensively most of the season, it sure was nice to score 82 points. Our press did a nice job for us and got us steals and easy baskets," Schindler commented. "I was most pleased that we really did the best job of the year running our offense. We had some possessions that we had 10 passes and took a good shot. That was a big improvement from earlier games this year.

"We talked about that we need more balanced scoring and had four girls in double figures. Freshman Kendra Norman really played a good game and had 16 points and six steals in her best varsity game. Cori Fairbanks also played her best game and chipped in with seven points. Our bench play is getting better and I thought Jessica Audette, Amanda Sylla and Kristen Kaminski came in and gave us added energy," Schindler concluded.

GAME SUMMARY

Columbia Heights 10 45 55

North Branch 38 44 82

North Branch Scoring

Cori Fairbanks 7

Kristen Robatcek 15

Kristen Kaminski 5

Jessica Audette 2

Kendra Norman 16

Miranda Charley 1

Megan Scherer 17

Rikki Beaver 3

Amanda Sylla 6

Ashley Johnson 10

Total 82

The Vikings play at Chisago Lakes Friday, January 18 before hosting Spring Lake Park Tuesday, January 22. Both conference games are scheduled for 7:15 starts.

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