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The Viking girls pulled away after halftime to defeat the Spring Lake Park Panthers 43-34 Tuesday, January 22. The win, at NBHS, moved the Vikings' season record to 5-12 overall and 2-10 in the North Suburban Conference.

The game got off to a slow start, with both teams turning the ball over and missing shots in the first minutes. Viking sophomore Rikki Beaver broke the ice when she drained a three with 15:30 in the half.

Then, the Vikings' offense went dormant, again. Park scored the next four points while the Vikings failed to score over the next 3.5 minutes. Beaver's field goal at 11:55 put NB back in the lead, 5-4, at 11:55. "Rikki came off the bench and scored our first five points. She gave us a great start. We have been starting games slow and we have talked about getting on the scoreboard first," said Viking head coach Dan Schindler.

Both offenses remained sluggish and, thanks to Ashley Johnson's (10 points, 7 rebounds) two from the elbow, a three from in front of the SLP bench by Kristen Robatcek and Kendra Norman's (7 points, 7 rebounds) short J from the right side, the Vikings led 12-8 with 7:25 on the clock.

In the next three minutes, the Panthers converted a pair of two's , a three and a freethrow. Meanwhile, only single freethrows by Norman and Amanda Sylla counted for the Vikes. When Viking head coach Dan Schindler signalled for a timeout, his team was down 16-14.

A minute after play resumed, Megan Scherer went two-for-two from the charity stripe to knot the score at 16. The next score came at the 1:50 mark when Robatcek dribbled toward the lane. She drew three defenders before kicking the ball out to Norman in the left corner. Norman snapped a quick pass to Johnson, who found the net from 16 feet. Neither team scored after that and the Vikings went to the locker room with an 18-16 advantage.

In the second half, the Viking defense helped them control the game. NB's pressure forced numerous SLP turnovers, which led to points for the home team.

"The second half we were able to pick up the tempo some with our press and Kristen Robatcek (14 points, 7 steals) and Amanda Sylla (4 steals, 7 rebounds) got us some steals that turned into some easy baskets," Schindler commented. "We had an eight point lead with five minutes left and I was pleased we handled the basketball down the stretch to secure the win.

"We were pleased with the win, especially since they beat us by 26 the first time we played them this year. It was probably not the prettiest basketball game ever played, but it's the way we have to play right now to get some wins. We played good team defense and took care of the basketball enough to get more offensive possessions.

"We still need to score more, but our defense was great and kept us in the game. Our goal the second half of the season is to see improvement as we now play everyone in the conference again," the coach said.

GAME SUMMARY

Spring Lake Park 16 18 34

North Branch 18 25 43

Viking Scoring

Cori Fairbanks 2

Kristen Robatcek 14

Kendra Norman 7

Megan Scherer 4

Rikki Beaver 5

Amanda Sylla 1

Ashley Johnson 10

Total 43

The Vikings host the Fridley Tigers Friday, February 1 before playing at Benilde-St. Margaret's Tuesday, February 5. Both conference games are scheduled to tip-off at 7:15.

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