Viking girls back on winning track
Lines honored as all-time team scoring leader
By Danielle Strenke It was a perfect night of basketball and awards, as the Viking girls basketball squad defeated Mora in a conference matchup, which followed an award ceremony for senior Kelly Lines. Before the start of the game Friday night in front of the North Branch crowd, Lines was recognized for breaking the all-time scoring record at North Branch of 1,181 points. Presenting her with the nightís game ball, which Lines would use later to tack on 10 more points to her total of 1,380, was Shannon Devine. A 2001 graduate of North Branch, Devine previously held the all-time scoring record. She still holds the girls basketball records for rebounds (1,081), steals (445), blocked shots (185), and varsity games (118). Lines, a co-captain on this yearís 11-2 squad, broke Devineís record in the first game of the season. The Vikes then went on to win 57-36 over the Mustangs. They started fast and led 20-12 after the first quarter, and never let Mora narrow the gap. At half, they led 35-20. ìOur defense was good and our press was extremely effective,î head coach Dan Schindler said. A weakness of the teamís performance, if it can be called that, was allowing for too many second and third chances by the Mustangs. Poor shooting by Mora led to several rebound opportunities, which they were able to capitalize on and put it in for two. In the game, Sheena Devine and Jamie Schlagel fouled out, while the rest of the team ran into some foul trouble as well. ìWe fouled too much in the first half, and the game got a little sloppy in the second half, but we got the win and that was our goal,î Schindler said. On the offensive side, scoring was spread out throughout the roster. Megan OíHern led with 19, followed by Traci Reimann with 11, Lines with 10, Christina Sampson with five, Alison Trampe and Jamie Schlagel with four each, Rauna Dallman with two, and Rachel Brown and Sarah Rauen with one apiece. ìWe had some good balance in our scoring tonight. I am pleased to see that,î Schindler said. The weekís first game ended much the same for the Vikes, with another conference win, this time over Princeton. They were looking to bounce back after the seasonís first two losses the previous week. North Branch was fast off the blocks in that game as well, leading 14-5 after the first and 34-12 at the half. ìWe were able to play uptempo,î Schindler said. ìIt was our best shooting performance from the outside all year.î The Vikes held a commanding 39-point lead after the third stanza, at 57-18. Scoring was led by OíHern, who had a career high 28 points. Lines added 22, while Reimann picked up five. Schindler was pleased with how well the bench continues to keep the team going. ìOur bench players came in and really kept up our defensive intensity,î he said. ìSheena Devine, Sarah Rauen, Alison Trampe, Christina Sampson and Rauna Dallman gave us quality minutes. When we are able to go to ten players deep with that intensity, we will be tough to beat.î North Branch sits alone in first place in the Rum River Conference, at 5-0. Foley is a close second a 4-1, but is 7-5 overall. This week, the squad was scheduled to host Centennial Tuesday, and will host Pine City Thursday before hitting the road for a game at Mora Saturday.
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