LANGLEY — South Whidbey came out strong, but relentless pressure under the boards fueled a second-quarter surge by King’s that lifted the Knights to a 48-33 win in Cascade Conference girls basketball Tuesday.

The Falcons knocked the Knights back on their heels early on.

King’s claimed a 3-1 lead after Makenzie Taylor hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc in the opening moments of the game, but South Whidbey’s Ashlinn Prosch uncorked a trey of her own to put the Falcons on top, 4-3.

Alannah Alber followed with another three-pointer on the Falcons’ next possession, then twisted the twine with a second trey on her next shot to put South Whidbey ahead 9-5.

King’s crept back into the contest after a Falcon turnover and two back-to-back trips to the free-throw line to draw within one, 9-8.

The Falcons responded with a deft cut inside to the basket by Courtney Linehan for two, followed by a Cayla Calderwood score that left the Falcons in front, 13-8, at the end of the first quarter.

King’s came out in the second and played up to their reputation, however, as the best 1A team in the conference.

Taylor hit another three-pointer to tie the game at 13-all, and Joclyn Kirton put King’s on top to stay with a basket that made it 16-14 in the Knights’ favor.

King’s led 22-18 at the half, and the Knights outscored the Falcons 15-8 in the third and 11-7 in the fourth to preserve the win. Rebounding was key: The Knights tallied 17 offensive rebounds in the game.

Alber led South Whidbey with 10 points and Prosch contributed nine. Calderwood added seven before fouling out in the fourth, and Linehan added seven.

The Knights’ Taylor led all scorers with 13 points.

The loss put South Whidbey at 2-9 in the league, 2-15 overall. King’s improved to 8-5 in the Cascade, and 11-8 overall.