The Knights started the evening with a problem and found an opportunity.

The Bremerton girls basketball team battled to the wire against Klahowya to pull out a 37-34 victory.

The Eagles led in the first two frames, taking an 18-16 advantage into halftime.

In the second half the two teams kept scrapping until the Knights found their shooting distance at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Bremerton coach Debbie Lindgren said the win was a big one for the girls because the team’s leading scorer, Sawyer Kluge, came down sick with the flu.

“She called me and said she was sick,” Lindgren said.

The coach thought Kluge was kidding. She was not.

“Everyone had to step up,” Lindgren said. “The kids had to realize they could be the go-to player.”

The Knights’ freshman guard Alyssa Beach discovered she could not only work the point, she buried a three with under six minutes left in the fourth. That shot, along with a long-range two from Terra Driskell right before Beach’s three, gave the Knights the surge they needed to keep the Eagles from taking back the lead.

And the Klahowya girls did everything they could until the final buzzer. Kori Holt put on a ball stealing clinic in the closing minutes, showing an anticipation and hand speed that nearly changed the flow of the game. But it was not to be.

The Knights kept their composure and found that winning formula.

Leading the scoring for the Knights was Driskell with 13, followed by Beach, eight, Asja Jackson, four, Rebecca Frei and Eboni Harpes both had three.

For the Eagles, Sally Fletcher scored 12, Holt, 10, Marina Hartford, four, and Mikala Grozier and Hope Leenstra both with two.

For the Knights, Harpes had 18 boards, Jackson 14 and Driskell eight.