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By Cynthia Scott
In the courtside pandemonium following the North Branch Vikings' 52-44 win over Andover Friday night, senior Megan Stegmeir wasórelatively speakingócalm.
Someone asked her if she had thought going into the tournament that her team was going to win the section.
"Yeah," she smiled, and pointed to her chest. "I felt it in my heart."
Heart indeed is what propelled the Vikings to a 57-46 upset win over state-ranked St. Michael-Albertville (STMA) in the semi-final match on Mar. 1 and a dogged 52-44 victory over Andover on Mar. 3. Andover (22-7) was also state-ranked.
Up next: the Vikings take on 20-8 Sartell in the opening round of the state tournament at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 9. A defeat sends the Vikings home. A win puts them in the semi-finals on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Target Center. The Class AAA championship game is at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and the third place game is at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Augsburg College.
This is the fifth appearance at State for Coach Dan Schindler's Vikings, and the 4th in six years. Schindler will be looking for his 300th career win against Sartell. He was named Section 6AAA Coach of the Year for the third straight year.
"These girls are unbelievable. They have really played great team basketball and stepped up their game when it counts," Schindler said. "I am so proud of this group of girls. They have worked hard all year and just wouldn't be denied in the tournament."
North Branch lost twice to STMA during the regular season, and they were determined that their third tilt with the Knights would not end their season.
The game was a back and forth affair for 3 1/2 quarters, with neither team able to mount more than a 3-point lead until the closing minutes. That's when the Vikings sank critical free throws, forced turnovers and took advantage of them.
Jenny Anderson led the way with another double-double, scoring 22 points and hauling in 14 rebounds. Megan Stegmeir added 13 and Gabrielle Olson 12. Marlayna Graff came off the bench to grab 7 rebounds.
The Vikings beat Andover in what Schindler called "the typical North Branch way: playing great defense and winning at the free throw line." North Branch went 17-24 from the line while Andover was 9-19.
Like the STMA game, the Vikings and Huskies played each other nearly basket-for-basket. The Vikings lost key starter Gabby Olson to foul trouble late in the second quarter, but Stegmeir picked up the slack with extra intensity on both sides of the ball. She was the Vikings' leading scorer with 17 points, 6 of them coming at the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
"Megan was the difference tonight," Schindler said. He also praised the defensive play of Kristen Robatcek and Randi Zentner, who came off the bench. Jenny Anderson scored 11 points and had 9 rebounds in spite of being double teamed most of the game.
Trailing by one point going into the fourth quarter, the Vikings saw Andover extend its lead to 5 points with 3:48 left. That's when North Branch dug in defensively. A key steal and field goal cut the lead to 3. With a minute remaining, freshman Tiffany Good sank a free throw tied the score at 44. After a turnover, a basket by Anderson gave the Vikings the lead, and they never relinquished it. Good ended up with 12 points.
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