With their season on the line, the Eastlake Wolves girls basketball team came through in the clutch against the Skyline Spartans.

The Wolves, who had already defeated the Spartans in their three previous matchups of the 2016-17 season, earned a 63-52 win in a loser-out KingCo 4A playoff game on Feb. 16 at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland. The Wolves bolted out to a 19-4 lead in the first quarter but Skyline didn’t go away quietly. The Spartans battled their way back in the second half, cutting the Wolves lead to 51-45 on a field goal from Skyline’s Kailey Kassuba with 4:52 left in regulation. The Spartans trailed the Wolves by double digits for most of the first half but decreased Eastlake’s lead to single digits six times in the final two quarters. Eastlake freshman post player Keeli Burton, who scored a team-high 20 points, credited Eastlake head coach Sara Goldie for calming the team down during Skyline’s rally bid.

“I think that really helped us stay composed in the fourth quarter. She just told us to stay really patient,” Burton said of Goldie’s message during timeouts. “It is really hard to beat a team four times. We made sure we didn’t come into the game expecting to win, we knew we had to earn that win.”

Eastlake point guard Gina Marxen, who scored 17 points in the victory, wasn’t rattled when Skyline unveiled their comeback in the fourth quarter.

“Obviously it got down to six points. We wanted to keep scoring and stay aggressive so we continued to attack,” Marxen said.

Goldie admitted it was a nerve-racking experience facing a team for the fourth time in one season.

“It made me nervous the last time (third matchup) we played them. Now our backs were up against the wall. The girls knew we had to show up and we had to play four quarters because Skyline is a great team. We knew we had to play four quarters and I think we did that tonight,” Goldie said. “They (Skyline) definitely kept us on our toes. It was a fun game.”

Skyline head coach Stacie Erfle, who was in her first season as the Spartans’ head coach, said the key to the game was rebounding.

“We allowed about 14 points on second chance buckets. That is something we’re going to spend a lot of time in the off-season working on,” Erfle said. “We’ve dug ourselves into a hole before and have gotten out of them. It is just a lot harder to do against a team as good as Eastlake. Not enough of our shots fell and we just gave up too many points.”

Despite the loss, Erfle was beaming with pride while discussing the 2016-17 Skyline girls basketball team.

“This was a really special group. My whole goal from the beginning was to bring this team together and create an actual team. We did that. That’s all I can ask for. I’m proud of them and I love them,” Erfle said. “It is a hard loss because it is the last one but we’ve become family over the past four months. I wouldn’t trade this team for anybody.”

The Wolves will face the Bothell Cougars in a winner-to-regional, loser-out playoff game at 6 p.m. on Feb. 18 at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.

“It is definitely a great opportunity. We are privileged to be here. We’ve worked really hard to be in this spot right now,” Marxen said.