POCATELLO — Pocatello's spark came at the end of the third quarter. 

With Skyline applying pressure and chipping away at the Indians' lead, Pocatello needed an answer. Skyline had the ball, down two points, with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining in the frame, but back-to-back turnovers buried the road Grizzlies and powered Pocatello's 6-0 quarter-ending run. The Indians edged themselves ahead for good with defense and won Tuesday's 4A District 5-6 opening-round game 44-35 at The Palace.

"There is always a spark someone brings," Pocatello's Kate Jackman said. "Then everyone else feeds off that. That gets us going and we don't stop."

Pocatello entered the fourth quarter leading 33-25 and pushed its lead to 37-26 at the 5:50 mark of the frame. The Grizzlies did not cut their deficit to fewer than seven points the rest of the way and head to Thursday's loser-out game against Idaho Falls, while the Indians play in the semifinals against top-seeded Century.

Pocatello's swarming defense thwarted the Grizzlies, who turned the ball over 20 times. The Grizzlies tried to inch their way back in the game, but miscues doomed them in their sixth loss against the Indians in their last six matchups.

The Grizzlies had more turnovers than made field goals (13).

"We didn't do a great job taking care of the ball," Skyline coach Ty Keck said. "With that many turnovers, it's hard to win a game."

As Pocatello's third-quarter push buried the Grizzlies, the Indians' first-quarter outburst helped them control the game's flow.

Pocatello led 7-0 with 6:44 left in the first quarter and 16-5 after eight minutes of play following nine first-quarter points from Destiny Harris. The junior post player was 4 of 6 from the field and knocked down two more field goals in the frame than Skyline.

"When she is doing her thing, it pumps everyone up," Pocatello coach Brock Gunter said. "How could you not when she is doing what she's doing? It even gets me going. It's a huge boost for our team."

Harris did not score the rest of the game, but the Indians rallied around their post player and had four other players score five points or more, led by Angel Pierce's 11 points. 

Whenever Pocatello needed a bucket, Adison Spillett drove the lane and found an open teammate around the arc for an open 15-foot jump shot The Grizzlies packed the paint, and the Indians made just enough of their outside shots to punish the road team.

Pocatello connected on 18 field goals and shot 33.3 percent from the floor.

"If we all chipped in, we knew we could win," Jackman said. "We wanted it, and we all chipped in something to get it."

As Pocatello relied on clutch shooting and defensive stops, the Grizzlies matched the home team with their defense, but found little success on the offensive end, thanks to their giveaways. 

Skyline scored more than 10 points in a quarter twice, but also scored eight points or fewer twice. 

"I tell the team defense is our ticket," Gunter said. "We have to play good team defense. We have done that. The girls work so hard. They fly around."

Pocatello heads to Century on Thursday for its third game this season against the crosstown rivals. Pocatello is 1-6 against the D-backs in the three seasons Gunter has been at the helm. 

Pocatello will key on Century's Chinma Njoku, who has tormented the Indians this season from her post position, scoring 48 combined points in two games. 

"We have to do a better job of defending the post," Gunter said. "They have great players. We have to defend them and keep the game close."

Pocatello 44, Skyline 35