By Steve Morris

With the loss the Vikings handed the Chisago Lakes Wildcats in the first round of the section playoffs last spring fresh in their minds, the Wildcats edged the Vikings by four points, 53-49 Nov. 29 It was the girls second loss of the young season.

Senior Cori Fairbanks hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the second half to bring the girls to within one point of the Wildcats. However, the Wildcats were able to keep their composure and made their free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

"It was a fun game and our team showed tremendous improvement from game one. We were still pretty nervous, but at times did do some good things offensively," head coach Dan Schindler said.

Freshman Kendra Norman came through in a big way for the Vikes, delivering a team-high 14-points in her second varsity game. Senior post Ashley Johnson chipped in 12 more points for the girls.

Schindler said his team will work out the kinks in the Chisago Lakes game and be ready for their next opponent.

"This team will continue to improve and I look forward to getting back in the gym to correct some of our mistakes," he said.

Chisago Lakes 28 25 53
North Branch 20 29 49

Cori Fairbanks 8 pts, Alyssa Peterson 5 pts, Jessica Audette, 1 pt, Kendra Norman 14 pts, Rebecca Collins 5 pts, Amanda Sylla 4 pts, Ashley Johnson 12 pts.

Mahtomedi

In a game where 10 girls played their inaugural varsity minutes, the North Branch girls basketball team lost to Mahtomedi by a score of 29-40 on Nov. 27. It was the girls first game of the season.

The Vikes, (0-2) played without senior guard Kristen Robatcek who is out with a sprained ankle.

The offense for Vikes was well balanced as Johnson led the team in scoring with 11 points while Norman added five steals.

"We are just making too many mistakes. But I really like our effort and I think this team will be okay after a few more weeks of practice. Most of our mistakes are very correctable," Schindler said.

North Branch 11 18 29
Mahtomedi 19 21 40

Cori Fairbanks 4 pts, Kendra Norman 4 pts, 5 steals, Miranda Charley 2 pts, Rebecca Collins 6 pts, Amanda Sylla 2 pts Ashley Johnson 11 pts.