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Conference champs!

The North Branch girls basketball team won its fourth straight Rum River Conference championship ñ and seventh in 10 years ñ with two big wins last week.
The squad went into the week tied with Chisago Lakes for first place in the conference, but emerged in sole possession of the championship after defeating Big Lake and St. Michael-Albertville and as Foley handed Chisago its second conference loss of the season to be knocked out of first.
In a 55-40 win over Big Lake, North Branch came ready to play, taking an 18-2 lead after one quarter and extended it to 35-18 at the half.
Big Lake rallied briefly in the third but could never get closer than 12 points as the Vikes took the win.
Senior Traci Reimann led the team with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while seniors Christina Sampson added 11 and Rauna Dallman added 9. Senior Sarah Rauen and sophomore Jenny Anderson had 7 rebounds apiece.
ìOur other players all came in and contributed to the win,î Head Coach Dan Schindler said. ìLike all year, it was a nice team effort. Everybody is just playing within themselves. We are really playing good team basketball.îÝ
Schindler said the team was focused on a win against St. Michael to claim at least a share of the conference title Feb. 20.
The Vikes took a commanding 14-3 lead after one quarter and continued strong through the first half, ending it leading 34-9. ìIt was a great half of basketball for us,î Schindler said.
North Branch was outscored 19-12 in the final quarter, but held on to a sizable lead for the 56-38 win.
Schindler said the improvement in the team since starting the season 3-2 is overwhelming. ìThis team has a lot to be proud of this year. They have won 23 games and 19 of the last 20,î he said.
The team enters playoffs as the No. 2 seed in section 6AAA with a 23-3 record. Playoffs begin with a quarterfinal game Thursday, Feb. 27 as North Branch hosts Columbia Heights. A win would advance the team to semifinals Tuesday, March 4.

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