|
|
Losses blemish perfect record; Girls fall to Faribault, RosevilleBy Danielle Strenke After starting the season out 9-0, the Vikings girls basketball squad suffered its first losses of the season last week in consecutive matches against Faribault and Roseville. It is the first time the team has lost two in a row since the 1997-98 season. ìYou might say we are in a bit of a slump right now,î head coach Dan Schindler said. ìThere have been many contributing factors on why we lost, but most are very correctable. I am confident we can get back in the win column this week.î The 59-48 loss to Faribault came Dec. 28, as the team was suffering with the loss of Kelly Lines due to an ankle injury, and Christina Sampson, on a vacation for the holidays. Despite the absence of two key players, Schindler said the team didnít play as sharp as they can. ìWe give Faribault a lot of credit,î he said. ìThey played a gimmick defense and really forced us to shoot from the outside. And it was just one of those games where we didnít shoot well.î The teamís struggles led to just 3-for-26 in shooting the first half (11%). Add to that seven baskets at the line, and the Vikes came up with a meager 14 points to trail 28-14 at halftime. ìThat isnít good enough to beat anyone, let alone a good team like Faribault,î Schindler said. North Branch didnít give up, thought, battling back to narrow the lead to 6 on two different occasions in the second half, before the final deficit of 11 ended the game at 59-48. Megan OíHern led the team by scoring nearly half of their total points, with 23. In her first varsity start, Alison Trampe stepped up and did well, notching eight points. Jamie Schlagel added seven, While Sheena Devine had four. ìI thought Jamie Schlagel really played a nice game for us,î Schindler said. After the holiday break, the squad fell to Roseville 55-48 Jan. 4. Uncharacteristically, the team struggled to play together. ìThis is the game where I felt we just didnít play very good team basketball,î Schindler said. ìWe made too many mistakes, did a poor job of hustling back when they broke our press and gave up too many second shots.î Key to the loss was the Vikes losing the rebound battle 20-13 while on offense, resulting in 19 second chances for the score from Roseville. ìWe have too many athletic girls and that should never happen,î Schindler said. ìBut we can get back in the gym and correct most of this.î He credits Rosevilleís Carolyn Kieger for leading the team. ìShe may be the best player in the state, and is the best player I have seen this year,î he said. Kieger led the team with 27 points and several assists. Schindler was optimistic with the teamís attitude. ìThe girls never gave up and battled back in the fourth quarter,î he said. The Vikes trailed 28-21 at the half, and saw the gap widen to 47-33 at the end of the third, before closing in to within seven to end the contest. Returning to the lineup were Lines and Sampson. Lines led the team with 18 points, and Sampson picked up five. This week, the squad was scheduled to take on Princeton Tuesday on the road, and will return home Friday to host Mora, in two important conference games. They host non-conference Centennial next Tuesday, Jan. 15. ©ECM Post Review |