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Eagle — It's hard to imagine a game between teams with records of 1-12 and 2-11 had playoff implications, but that was the case when the Steamboat Springs and Battle Mountain girls basketball teams met Saturday.

Both teams entered with wins against Eagle Valley, and the Huskies' 48-32 win against Steamboat on Saturday vaulted the Huskies into the sixth and final Slope state-playoff berth as the league reached its halfway point.

Mercifully, Huskies coach Andrew Schmid did not go into a Jim Mora "Playoffs?" rant.

"I was unaware of that, but it definitely sounds great," said Schmid, sounding very un-Mora-like. "The girls deserve it. They put in their time. They've probably worked the hardest they have in their basketball careers. If we keep winning, we'll be ready to take it on."

"I've never won against Steamboat, not even being a freshman," said Huskies senior Kaeli Hosler, who had a game-high 16 points. "So it feels really good just to know it's not the same teams that we're beating every year, like Eagle (Valley) or Delta."

After a lackluster first period by both teams, the visiting Sailors led 8-7. Battle Mountain responded with a 16-0 run to start the second, providing the decisive margin.

Steamboat's Emily Metscher, a swing player from junior varsity to varsity, was not listed in the score book at the beginning of the game. So when she came in, the Sailors were whistled for a technical foul.

Hosler sank both of her shots from the free throw line to start the run. Hosler and Sanders both hit 3 pointers, while Kayleigh Quintana had four points during the run. Hosler's 4-footer with 3:42 left in the half pushed the Huskies to a 23-8 lead.

"Sometimes, you've just got to sit them down and calm them down," Schmid said. "We got into our press. We got probably like six turnovers in a row. We really got after them. The Steamboat girls got a little flustered there. We got them on their heels. We were able to covert."

The Sailors entered the game with a win under their belts against Eagle Valley the previous night and hoped to keep it going against the Huskies.

"We didn't open up the game with any momentum and intensity," Steamboat coach John Ameen said. "That killed us. We played them even in the second half. There were spurts where we could have turned the corner, but when you get down that quickly, and you exert that much energy to come back and do not shoot the ball well, that combination is not good."

Lizzie Stoll and Gracie Stockdale led the Sailors (1-13 overall, 1-6 in the Slope) with eight points each. Sanders put up eight for Battle Mountain (3-10, 2-5), while Quintana and Max Van Dyke had seven.

Steamboat is at Rifle to start the second half of the season, while Battle Mountain is at Rifle. Both games are Friday.

"I think these girls have more confidence now," Schmid said. "I can tell they're a good team. They shouldn't be underestimated the second time around the league, but they're going to be. We're ready to pounce on them."