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St. Francis 57, North Branch 45

The Vikings faced the daunting task of trying to unseat St. Francis in the North Suburban Conference. Coming into the game, the Saints sported a perfect 7-0 record in NSC play.

North Branch would've had a chance to knock them off their perch if it wasn't for a dismal start to the contest. St. Francis scored the first 12 points of the game, and that ended up being the margin of victory for SF.

The girls nicked the lead down to nine at halftime, and stayed close all the way throughout the second half, trimming the lead to five with two minutes left, but St. Francis made good on their free throws and sealed the game. The 12-point hole was just too much to dig out of.

"We certainly learned early the speed and intensity that St. Francis plays at," Head Coach Dan Schindler said. "We did settle down and play a pretty intense game. I am really proud of how hard the girls are playing, we just had a hard time staying with their athletic and bigger girls."

GAME SUMMARY

North Branch 22 23 45

St. Francis 31 26 57

Scoring

Scherer 5, Beaver 6, Yousey 12, Collins 4, Norman 10, Audette 8

Spring Lake Park 52, North Branch 45

This NSC game can be summed up in one word for the Vikings. Frustrating.

The girls won almost every important stat category except for the final score. The Vikings enjoyed a one-point edge at halftime, but Spring Lake Park came back in the second half with sharp-shooting, coupled with North Branch's ice-cold shooting.

For the game, North Branch shot only 25 percent from the field while Spring Lake Park shot 48 percent. North Branch was able to force 31 Panther turnovers, but not they couldn't turn them into points.

Spring Lake Park finished the Vikes off with a seven-point margin of victory, 52-45. "I am pleased that we are getting plenty of opportunities to score, but we need to shoot a higher percentage to win games in this conference," Schindler said. "But the effort was there, and as soon as we make more of our shots, good things will happen for us on the scoreboard."

GAME SUMMARY

North Branch 24 21 45

St. Francis 23 29 52

Scoring

Scherer 9, Beaver 8, Yousey 8, Collins 7, Norman 8, Audette 2, Forstrom 3

North Branch 52, Duluth Denfeld 51

The Viking girls treated their fans to an exciting finish when they hosted Duluth Denfeld in a noon basketball game Saturday, January 10. North Branch got off to an early lead, but the Hunters came back strong to take the lead. The home team, behind the late-game scoring of Kendra Norman, recovered for an exciting 52-51 nonconference win

The Vikings had all cylinders firing in the first three minutes as they raced to an 11-3 lead. The home team's full court pressure, led by the Jessica Audette, Rebecca Collins and Kendra Norman, created turnover after turnover and Collins, Megan Scherer and Rikki Beaver provided the offense in the early going.

After a Duluth timeout, the Hunters turned the tables and their defensive pressure allowed a 12-0 run. That left the visitors with a 15-13 lead midway through the half. Collins converted a pair of freethrows and Audette scored all seven of the Vikings' points in the final two minutes. When halftime arrived, NB led 22-21.

"We got off to a great start and were doing a lot of very good things," said Viking head coach Dan Schindler. "But then we got sloppy with the basketball and turned the ball over too much the rest of the half. The other thing we did was quit moving our feet on defense and we put them in the double bonus for much of the first half, resulting in them getting 12 first half freethrow attempts."

Scherer and Collins scored the first points and things looked better a minute into the final period. After Denfeld countered with a hoop, Norman scored on a fast break layup and completed a three-point play at the freethrow line. North Branch had a 29-23 lead and seemed to have the momentum. "I thought we came out and played a much better second half, but we again struggled making some very easy shots that we have to make," Schindler continued.

But, the Hunters scored 11of the next 12 points. With 11:30 left, the visitors led 34-30. Duluth extended its lead to 42-36 in the next four minutes to take a 42-36 lead. With less than six minutes to go, the Hunters led 45-40 and the Viking offense was struggling. However, Norman, who had been short on her shots most of the game, suddenly found the range. She hit a two, then a three and the game was knotted at 45. Four minutes remained.

Two minutes later it was 51-47 in favor of the visitors. Norman hit a triple at 1:27 and put her team in the lead for good with a two pointer with 43 seconds on the clock. "Kendra hit a huge three point shot on our next possession and, after a defensive stop, we got the ball back. We set up a play to give us some options and Kendra again got free on the baseline and hit a 12 foot baseline shot. Those were two huge shots that she made for us," the coach added.

After a Denfeld timeout, Duluth had the opportunity to take the last shot. But, they missed and Collins, who was tough on the boards all day, grabbed the rebound. The Vikings survived 52-51.

Schindler commented, "I thought Rebecca Collins was all over the court in our press and controlled the boards for us in the second half. If Rebecca continues to improve, she will really help this team in the upcoming games.

"This was a fun game and we needed a win after two tough losses earlier in the week. Duluth did not shoot a foul shot the second half. We ended the game playing great defense and forced them into a long three point attempt that we rebounded and pulled out the win. I am proud of how hard the girls are working. We just need to be more perfect than our opponents because we lack the physical size and some of the athleticism that we see each night. We have to take care of the basketball every possession and continue to work on shooting a higher percentage. I am confident with more hard work we can continue to improve in both those area," Schindler concluded.

GAME SUMMARY

Duluth Denfeld 21 30 51

North Branch 22 30 52

Scoring

Scherer 10, Beaver 5, Aho 3, Collins 11, Norman 13, Audette 8, Forstrom 2

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