Viking girls beat RRC leader

In the biggest game of the year so far, the North Branch girls basketball team defeated Chisago 51-38 last Thursday to regain a share of first place in the Rum River Conference.
The Wildcats looked off-balance as the squad was forced to try and keep pace with the up-tempo game played by North Branch. The Vikings capitalized by controlling the ball outside and forcing several Chisago Lakes turnovers.
ìIt was a great night for us. It had a tournament atmosphere with a big crowd and both teams were ready to play,î head coach Dan Schindler said.
ìOur girls were really focused and executed our game plan to perfection.î
He gives tremendous credit to seniors Christina Sampson and Sarah Rauen and junior Rachel Brown, who collectively stopped Chisagoís best player, Kari Schmidt.
ìShe is a great player and our girls played super defense on her,î Schindler said. ìWe pride ourselves in defense and that was the difference in this game.î
Chisago started the game with a 6-1 run, but North Branch battled back to lead after one quarter 15-11.
The concentration on Schmidt meant North Branch was forced to give up some open shots which Chisago was able to put in. The Vikes increased the lead to 31-21 at the half.
Chisago started the third quarter with three straight baskets to cut the lead to 30-27, but a big three pointer by Rauna Dallman put the lead back up to six points.
ìEarlier in the year this team might have panicked when Chisago made that run, but we played through it and got our lead back,î Schindler said.
The rest of the way North Branch was able to maintain the lead for the 51-38 victory.
It was a big win, giving Chisago Lakes its first loss of the season and propelling North Branch into a tie for first place.
ìWe needed this win, now we are back in the race,î Schindler said. ì There is still a lot of basketball to be played and we need to maintain this level of intensity for the next three weeks.î
He said the team has been led all season by Sampson, Traci Reimann and Rauna Dallman in scoring with this game showing similar results. Dallman had 16 points, Sampson 15 and Reimann 11.
Schindler also credits the strong play of Alison Trampe, Jenny Beader, Jenny Anderson and Katie Hasleiet for contributing to the win. ìIt was a nice team effort,î he said.
Earlier in the week, Centennial broke North Branchís 12 game winning streak by defeating the Vikings 39-38.
ìThis was a good game, but very physical,î Schindler said. ìWe are never happy with a loss, but I felt this game really prepared us for the Chisago game. We certainly had chances to win this game, but some poor free throw shooting in the fourth quarter allowed Centennial to pull off the win.
North Branch was led in scoring by Sampson with 12 points and Dallman with 10.
This week, the team will host Minneapolis Southwest Thursday and Pine City Friday before hosting Cambridge-Isanti Tuesday, Feb. 11.

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