Defense led the way for the Archbishop Murphy girls basketball team in a 52-30 win over South Whidbey in Everett Tuesday night.

The Wildcats held the Falcons to 10 first-half points while surging to 28 points of their own for a comfortable lead going into the second half.

South Whidbey (4-7 Cascade Conference, 4-11 overall) scraped together more offense in the third quarter, scoring 10 points. The Falcons were led by sophomore Kacie Hanson’s 11 points. Fellow sophomore Kinsey Eager chipped in six points.

South Whidbey’s perimeter offense continued, as four players — Hanson, Bailey Forsyth, Mikayla Hezel, and Morgan Davis — each made a three-point shot.

The Falcons had no answer for Wildcat junior Megan Wall, who scored a game-high 21 points.

South Whidbey and Sultan (3-8 conference, 4-13 overall) are battling for the third spot among the four 1A teams in the Cascade Conference. King’s is undefeated in league competition and holds a firm grasp on first place. Cedar Park Christian (5-5 conference, 5-11 overall) is not far ahead of South Whidbey, and the teams split their head-to-head games this season.