POULSBO — Friday night’s victory over Port Angeles (6-3, 2-2) was the first Narrows League Bridge win of the season for the Lady Vikes (6-4, 1-3), and it is now the bottom rung of a ladder they must climb to get back in the running for a postseason position.

On Jan. 4, the ladies travelled to Shelton, with the confidence of two victories from the Victoria Invite, looking to start the new year out with a league win. But a hard-fought battle ended in three-points of agony for NK as the Highclimbers escaped with the 45-42 win, leaving North with a goose egg in the league win column.

Friday night, the Lady Vikes had nothing but a win in mind.

“That was the most complete game we’ve played all year,” said NK coach Dan Weedin. “By the fourth quarter, I never had a doubt that we were going to win.”

The game started out back-and-forth as the teams raced to double digits. PA ended the first quarter with a three-point lead, 17-14, that ruffled North’s feathers. In response, the Lady Vikes opened the second frame with a stern defense and a fast-paced offense.

Rachael Kramer, Jade Neimeyer and Jasmine Campbell — who ended with 10 points and eight rebounds in her first varsity start of the year — each pilfered a steal contributing to a six-point run which put North ahead 20-19 with 4:05 left in the half.

Then PA’s Nicole Morgan — who scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half — sunk a three-pointer to partially quell the momentum and left Weedin shouting from the bench, “We’re fine!”

It echoed.

Neimeyer picked up three points off free throws and a steal that turned into a Jasmine Hill bucket as North’s energy began to force PA turnovers to close the half with a 29-25 lead.

“We finished the half strong and there was a lot of energy when I walked in,” Weedin said of the half-time team meeting.

Kramer started the third quarter with a sweet dish to Hill for the easy two. Hill continued her strong defensive presence picking up rebound after rebound and steal after steal to start North out with a very nice 7-0 run, distancing the Lady Vikes to a 36-25 lead with 4:20 left in the third.

PA’s freshman Shelby Napiontek scored the Roughriders’ first points of the second half with just 2:50 left in the quarter as NK dominated the third frame, holding the Roughriders to only four points.

“Rebounding was huge,” Weedin said, adding that NK’s defensive intensity was just as important. “When you come out and play that way, it sparks you.”

The third quarter outburst sparked the Vikings enough to carry through the final period. The Roughriders wouldn’t go out without a fight, but the Lady Vikes were much too poised to let the game get tight.

Kramer led the Lady Vikings through PA’s last-chance, full-court press and on to the win dishing out the bulk of her five total assists in the last quarter.

“Everyone who played played a key role,” Weedin said. “Kramer is the engine (of the team), we don’t go unless Kramer goes.”

Weedin also mentioned the NK bench and crowd played a key role in the victory and hopes are that a full gym will be back when the Lady Vikes host South Kitsap (2-8, 1-3) at 7 p.m. Jan. 11, in one of the many upcoming must-wins for North.

“Energy is what home court advantage is all about, we need that energy,” he said. “(The) South Kitsap (game) is just as big. Every game is (now) a playoff game for us.”

NK boys fall

to PA, 68-51

The North Kitsap Vikings (3-6, 1-3) rode a three-game winning streak into Friday night’s match up with Port Angeles, but the Roughriders (7-3, 3-1) dismounted the Vikes in a devastating 68-51 contest.

PA started the game out on a fast pace, jumping to 14 points before North even got on the board in the first quarter. The Vikings whittled their way back into the game midway through the second quarter, but the second half belonged to the Roughriders as they rolled to their third conference win with big help from a 22-point, 10-rebound performance by Cameron LeDuke.

Dietreich Rios stepped into the leading role for NK, scoring 15 but the Vikings dropped to 1-3 in the NL Bridge with a tough schedule ahead of them. North will next travel south to face the Wolves (7-1, 3-1) with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Jan. 11.