With 59 seconds left, the Eagles blew past the Vikings to tie the score up, 38 to 38. And in the last few agonizing seconds, fans on their feet at a deafening roar, they did it again, sealing the win with two free throws at 38 to 42.

“It was a great game,” said coach Terry Moran-Hodge. “The last four minutes of play were really difficult, really painful, but I think everyone would say it was a fantastic game to watch.”

The Vikings gave the Eagles a serious fight for the win this year. Things were vastly different four years ago, said Moran-Hodge.

“Four years ago when this group were freshmen, we went down to Evergreen Lutheran and we just got our clocks cleaned. It was not a pleasant experience. That team is really well coached and really aggressive; they’re no slouches. (The lady Vikes have) come a long way in four years.” The Eagles have gone to the playoffs every year he can remember.

This time, said Moran-Hodge, “The gym was rockin and they were ready to do battle.”

Marissa Veldman kicked off pre-game ceremonies with “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“Lanie played just an awesome game, driving to the hoop,” said Moran-Hodge. “We had a lot of lay-ins early. They were running their offense well.” O’Toole led with 11 rebounds and Shaw swiped six steals.

“(Evergreen Lutheran) was a very physical team. It did look a little bit like a hockey game out there; but that’s what happens at the playoff level; that’s the intensity we have to match up to. We knew it would be like that,” said Moran-Hodge. That intensity drove lots of traveling and double-dribble calls, even a “kick” call, and desperate passes went wild for turnovers on both sides. Late in the game O’Toole took an elbow to the mouth that a chipped a tooth. She didn’t take that lying down.

“She went back out with vengeance on her mind,” said Moran-Hodge.

But with three minutes left in the game the Vikings had lost key players Padbury and O’Toole, who both fouled out in the intensity of the match. The Eagles sunk 18 4th-quarter points, while the Vikings only managed five.

“There was no quitting them; no quitting us neither. They did a good job of battling through it,” said Moran-Hodge. “The heart that they showed is pretty impressive; they really represented their school well.”

The Vikings play their second playoff game Saturday, Feb. 20 against Cross Point, ranked fifth in the Seatac League, at Chief Leschi. The Eagles were ranked third in the same league. The Vikings will have to win two games before they lose one in order to make it to the state finals in Spokane this year.