POULSBO — One minute and thirty-four seconds to go and the NK crowd was a ruckus. Jasmine Hill had just nailed a three-pointer to pull NK within three of the perennial big dogs of Gig Harbor, and there was timeout on the floor.

The Tides’ inbounds pass came from half court and Elizabeth Betterbed came out to bank in a long-distance triple, giving Gig the six-point lead. And the momentum to seal a 60-45 win.

“The final score was not indicative of the game,” NK coach Dan Weedin said of the Dec. 14 Narrows opener. “Our second half was exemplary. Defensively we played very good basketball.”

North trailed by 10 or more for much of the second-half, but its defense stood strong to keep the deficit within reach as the net hung untouchable at the other end.

The rim deterred NK freethrows for much of the night, contributing to one of the biggest factors of the game, Weedin said. The Lady Vikes, which had been shooting more than 60 percent from the line, missed 15 would-be points, making just 14-of-29 free throws.

Regardless of problems of offense, NK’s D solidified after the Tides jumped out to an 11-point lead at halftime. Toward the end of the half, North’s missed shots created frustration for the Vikes, which in turn caused turnovers that gave GH the upper hand. That and Gig Harbor’s Holly Rubert’s three first half three-pointers helped silence NK.

In the second half, North came out with a stingy zone defense and a slick sophomore on offense. Riley Watts, in her first varsity start, dropped a confidence-boosting jumper for NK two minutes into the third quarter. She sank another as the defense froze the Tides, then Jasmine Hill hit a jumper and momentum shifted back on to the Vikings.

“Our 2-3 was really good, we had our spots covered,” Watts said of NK’s effort to keep the ball out of the paint and out of the hands of Gig’s 6’3” Rebecca Sexton.

Just as the Vikings’ ball started rolling, Rubert scored a triple.

But Watts answered with a long two-pointer and a blocked shot on the defensive end. Then she came back with another jumper — part of her 10-point third quarter — keeping the Vikes within 10.

“Of course, I’m pleased with Riley Watts,” Weedin said post-game. “She kept us in the game and didn’t let Gig take it away.”

The GH defense stepped it up in the final frame as did the NK offense.

Rachael Kramer started North’s comeback by sinking two free-throws, then Watts followed with a fluid jumper off a solid pick by Hill. Hill then dropped the bomb to pull within three but the game was just out of reach.

Watts led North scorers with 14 points to go along with three blocked shots. Hill scored 11 for the Vikes. On Gig’s side, Sexton battled for 14 points and Janette North scored 12.

But the telltale stat of the game was at the freethrow line where NK hit less than half and Gig missed only two, going 16-for-18.

“We showed a great amount of character,” Weedin said. “We showed we can play with one of the top teams in the league. We’ve gotta build from this, we’ve got a tremendous task at CK on Friday.”

The Vikings travelled to CK to face another front-runner of the league (results not available at press time) before winter break. The Lady Vikes will be back in action in Canada at the Victoria Invite Dec. 27 and 29. They will play Jan. 4 at Shelton before coming home to face Port Angeles at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 6.

“This loss hurts, but it’s only the first step in a 14-game marathon,” said Weedin.