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The third-seeded Wildcats overwhelmed the sixth-seeded Vikings in the first round of section play in the Chisago Lakes gym. CL erased an early NB advantage, took a big halftime lead and cruised to a 58-40 win, advancing to the section semifinals.

Viking senior Cori Fairbanks scored thirty seconds into the game and classmate Kristen Robatcek hit a runner at 16:15, giving the Vikings an early 4-0 lead. The Wildcat captains combined to close the gap. With 13:50 left in the half, Megan Corradi stole a Viking pass and shoveled the ball to Kori Sells who put the 'Cats on the board.

After Megan Scherer restored the Viking four-point lead by going two-for-two from the freethrow line, Wildcat head coach Craig Walker changed the game's tempo by putting his team in a full-court press.

The pressure paid almost immediate dividends as CL forced a turnover and Sells was fouled as she shot. She hit a single freethrow to make the score 6-3 Vikings. Robatcek responded with another hoop that put gave the Vikings a five-point lead, their biggest of the game, with 11:50 remaining in the half.

Wildcat Summer Young scored her first basket, a three-pointer, 20 seconds later, starting a 9-0 run that gave her team its first lead. Corradi hit consecutive field goals and Whitney Tinjum assisted Sells' second basket at 9:30, giving the hosts a 12-8 lead.

Viking Kristin Kaminski faked a shot before finding Scherer open in the paint 10 seconds later. Scherer laid it in to cut the CL lead to 12-10 before the floodgates opened.

At 8:40, Corradi hit a three that drew a standing ovation from the partisan crowd. Her career 1000th point temporarily stopped play and gave her team a 15-10 advantage. It also started a 19-2, five-minute Wildcat surge that put them in control for good.

After Corradi passed the 1000-point milestone, Young scored the next five points and Amanda Farrell hit a three. Viking Kendra Norman interrupted the CL run with two freethrows at the 5:50 mark, making it 23-12. Sells and Young scored the next points, prompting Viking mentor Dan Schindler to call timeout with 3:50 left in the half.

When play resumed, Sells hit a baseline pull-up and Farrell dropped another one from beyond the arc. With 3:10 left, the Wildcat lead ballooned to 33-12. Scherer scored again for the Vikings, Alyssa Lundberg hit from the baseline and Kelsey Ristow scored a two for CL. Scherer ended the first-half scoring at the 30 second mark.

The home folks were all smiles. Their team held a commanding 37-16 advantage halfway through the contest.

The Vikings showed some grit in the early minutes of the second session. Robatcek scored first to cut the CL lead to less than 20. After Brenna Coyle grabbed a rebound and muscled up a short one, it was back to 21. Viking senior Ashley Johnson scored a single from the stripe before Robatcek found the bottom of the net from downtown. With 16:30 remaining, it was 39-22.

Tinjum scored for the Wildcats and two Vikings responded. Rebecca Collins hit from a step inside the arc and Robatcek kissed one off the glass. NB had cut the deficit to 41-26. With 15 minutes left, the lead was 15.

Just when it appeared the Vikings were on their way back, Farrell hit another tre. A minute later Tinjum scored. Following three minutes when nobody scored, Tinjum hit the second of two foul shots. The lead was back to 21.

Scherer gave NB some hope when she hit a two and completed an old-fashioned three-point play. The Chisago lead was 47-31 with 8:44 to go.

In the next three minutes, after a Cassie Trandahl freethrow and a pair by Sells were matched by Scherer and Collins from the stripe and an Amanda Sylla putback, it was 50-35. North Branch edged closer after Young hit one of two from the line. Miranda Charley's three and two from the paint by Scherer made it 51-40 with scant more than three minutes left.

The Wildcats took charge of the final minutes. Corradi, as she has all season, took charge of the CL offense. She scored five points and her mates added two from the stripe while shutting down the Viking offense.

The Wildcat victory added at least one more game to the CL schedule. Meanwhile, the Vikings were left to think about what might have been.

GAME SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 37 21 58

North Branch 16 24 40

Wildcat Scoring

Farrell, Amanda 10

Trandahl, Cassie 1

Tinjum, Whitney 5

Summer Young 12

Corradi, Megan 12

Sells, Kori 12

Brenna Coyle 2

Alyssa Lundberg 2

Kelsey Ristow 2

Total 58

Viking Scoring

Cori Fairbanks 2

Kristen Robatcek 11

Megan Scherer 16

Amanda Sylla 2

Ashley Johnson 1

Rebecca Collins 3

Miranda Charley 3

Kendra Norman 2

Total 40

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