By CELESTE CORNISH

North Kitsap Herald

POULSBO — As the final seconds ticked off the clock and North Kitsap and Central Kitsap girls scrapped for a victory, many a fan was nearly in need of a defibrillator.

Fueled by an intense rivalry, neither the Lady Vikings or Lady Cougars allowed themselves to get more than a few points behind in the fourth quarter.

In the end, North Kitsap walked away with the 42-39 victory at home.

The loss was a bitter pill for CK to swallow, said coach Denise Baxter.

“This was a tough loss for us,” Baxter said. “There were too many turnovers.”

She complimented NK on how well the team handled the ball and got the ball in the bucket.

“They hung in there and did a good job,” she said.

The Lady Cougs held their own, playing aggressive defense and managed to stay neck-and-neck on the scoreboard with the Vikings.

Katie Lintz led the Cougs on the scoreboard with 17 points, while Lauren Forney added seven. Also scoring for the Cougs were Nolan Winger and Natalie Pfaff with 4 each, Naenae Tibbs earned 3 points and Amanda Evans and Sam Sudy both scored 2 points.

North Kitsap’s Darcey Hughes acknowledged that CK played a tough game, but the home court advantage rang true.

“We were down, but only by a few points, and it was like, let’s kick it up. We’ve got this now,” said Hughes, who had a phenomenal game on both sides of the ball with 13 points, 13 rebounds and five steals.

For the Vikes, everyone who stepped foot on the floor played a role in the victory.

Vikings adding to NK’s final tally included Kateese Carter, 5 points; Siara Byers, 4 points; Nikki Taplin, 3 points; and Kristen Vestman, Brandy Ritter and Crystal Hart, 2 points each.