It was a defensive battle but the Northwood-Kensett girls’ basketball team came through with a 36-27 victory over Ventura Thursday.

The Vikings (7-7, 4-5) got 20 points from Kate Hartman and Kjirsti Davidson added 10 in the win.

“We knew we’re going to be in a battle,” Northwood-Kensett head coach Daryl Love said. “We had to play more zone defense than we normally do.”

The Vikings have a big challenge waiting for them Friday in Northwood as they face Corn Bowl leader West Fork.

Northwood-Kensett 36, Ventura 27

Northwood-Kensett 10 8 6 12 — 36

Ventura 5 6 10 6 — 27

Northwood-Kensett scoring: Kate Hartman 20, Kjirsti Davidson 10, Kathy Porter 4, McKensie Nicholson 2.

Ventura: Kaley Imhoff 8, Nicole Huber 7, Morgan Welp 4, Alicia Christians 2, Andrea Toppin 2, Brittany Boehnke 2, Hannah Vavrik 2.