OLYMPIA — The North Kitsap girls basketball team saw their season come to an end Monday in a sub-district playoff loss to Capital.

The Vikings could not overcome a 39-19 halftime deficit, despite a strong second half, and ultimately lost 69-53.

“We had a tough second quarter,” said NK coach Bill Hobaugh. “We weren’t quite used to the physical game that went on here.”

Besides the physicality of the game, the Vikings had trouble adapting to the quick Cougar offense.

“We were trying to press them,” said Darcey Hughes, who led North with a triple-double (16 points, 12 blocks and 11 rebounds). “But they broke the press really fast.”

Free throws also hurt the Vikings, who were outscored 25-7 from the line. Five of those NK free throws came in the closing minutes of the game.

The Vikings found their groove in the second half, and made some positive gains, outscoring the Cougars 17-10 in the third quarter.

“Once we started passing the ball around and got open shots, things went better,” said Hughes.

But the effort was too little, too late against a hearty Cougar team.

“I don’t think we were prepared for that,” Delanee Nilles, who put up a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds), said of Capital’s aggressiveness.

The loss put the Vikings’ record at 14-8, one of their better seasons in recent years.

“We had a good run,” said Hughes.