Vikes take win streak to 6

The North Branch girls basketball squad has rebounded after a tough conference loss in overtime to Chisago Lakes Dec. 10 to rack up six wins in a row, including going 3-0 to capture the tournament title at a Simley holiday tournament.
The squad was led by a strong defense throughout the three-game tourney Dec. 26-28 to take first place.
Allowing only 93 points in the three outings, the Vikes defeated St. Paul Highland 54-21, Mahtomedi 45-39 and Simley in the championship game, 38-33.
ìWe always stress defense is the key to winning games and this tournament was no exception,î Head Coach Dan Schindler said. This was a nice tournament for us to win.î
Schindler said he expected good competition at the tournament, with five of the eight teams battling it out for the top spot. The momentum of taking first place will carry a long way, he said. ìIt should be a big confidence builder for our girls going into the new year,î Schindler said.
In the game against St. Paul Highland, the Vikings held Highland to single digits through the third three quarters and then shut out Highland 20-0 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 54-21 victory.
North Branch held a 29-16 lead at halftime, but was unable to get in a good rhythm until the fourth quarter when the team racked up 20 points.
Leading in scoring was senior Rauna Dallman with 15, followed by sophomore Jenny Anderson with 10 points and 8 rebounds, senior Traci Reimann with 9 points and 8 rebounds, senior Christina Sampson with 7 points, senior Jenny Beader, 7 points and 5 rebounds, junior Katie Hasleiet, 4 points and junior Rachel Brown with 2 points.
The Vikes took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter against Mahtomedi in game two, and held off Mahtomediís run in the final stanza for a 45-39 win.
ìThe key to this game was our defense. We did a great job on their best player who had scored 19 points against us just two games ago. Christina Sampson and Rachel Brown did a great job of denying her the basketball,î Schindler said.
Sampson and Reimann picked up their offensive game in the third quarter to extend North Branchís lead to 14 by the end of the stanza. Reimann led the team in scoring with 14 points, followed by Sampson with 10. Reimann also tacked on 10 rebounds.
Also scoring were senior Sarah Rauen, 7 points and 8 rebounds, Dallman, 6 points, Anderson, 3 points and 8 rebounds, Brown, 3 points and senior Alison Trampe, 2 points.
North Branch controlled 6í3î and 6í2î post players for Simley during the 38-33 win, holding the duo to only 6 points.
ìRauen, Reimann, Anderson and Brown did a great job defending them all game,î Schindler said. ìTheir size gave us some trouble but we hung in there and did what we had to for the win.î
Reimann led the team again with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Sampson had 10 points and Dallman had 6 points and 7 steals. Anderson added 4 points, Hasleiet 3 and Trampe 1.
Reimann, Dallman and Sampson were named to the 10-player tournament team for their efforts.Ý
The Vikings JV team also won the JV tournament by winning all three games. The teamís season record is now 9-1 under coach Brian Hasleiet.
The team improved its record to 9-2 with a win over Spring Lake Park Jan. 4.
ìThis was a big win for us because it was on the road against another team that is in our section at the end of the year,î Schindler said.
Great defense told the story of the 49-38 win. North Branch led 11-8 after the first quarter and 24-18 at the half.
The Vikes watched the lead diminish to one as Spring Lake Park rallied in the third to 30-29.
Schindler said the team needs to improve its scoring consistency to continue winning. ìIn this game we almost got away with not scoring for six minutes. We canít do that most games and win,î he said.
ìAs has been the story of the year, we played great defense and did enough on offense to win the game.î
The Vikings settled down in the fourth quarter and pulled away slowly for the 11-point win. ìI am pleased that we have been playing good basketball at the end of the game,î Schindler said.
Reimann led the offense in her biggest game of the year,, with 16 points, 15 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. Sampson added 14 points and Dallman notched 11. Rauen scored 3 points, Beader 2, Anderson 2 and Trampe 1 to round out the scoring.
Their 9-2 record puts the Vikings in second place in the RRC, behind Chisago Lakes who remain unbeaten in the conference.
The team was scheduled to host Foley Tuesday and hit the road to take on Big Lake Friday.

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