During the final timeout with the score tied and eight seconds left on the clock, Teton's Laurel Kearsley knew her team would come out on top in the 3A state tournament play-in game Saturday at Highland.

"Coach was saying, 'We need to get a stop. We need to come out on top,'" the senior said. "I was like, 'Coach, we're gonna come out on top.' He was excited, and we were all pumped and knew we were gonna do it."

Kearsley made sure of it.

As a result, the Redskins captured a 51-49 win over Marsh Valley to move on to state.

After that last timeout, the Eagles had the ball and the length of the floor in front of them to try to score the game-winner. They never advanced the ball past halfcourt.

Teton trapped along the right sideline, and Kearsley jumped in front of a pass back to the middle of the floor. She took a couple dribbles before heaving an off-balance contested shot from her right hip at the buzzer to give her team the win.

"When I was in the air, I heard, 'Shoot it! Shoot it!'" Kearsley said. "I looked up at the clock and saw like 0.8 or something and chucked it. It was a prayer."

The frantic final seconds capped a final stretch during which Marsh Valley hit two apparent game-winning shots only to see Teton come back to tie.

With 34 seconds left, the Eagles came out of a timeout with possession of the ball on the left baseline. Rather than set up a play that would devour the rest of the clock, Marsh Valley used a quick-hitter, lobbing the inbounds pass to 6-foot freshman Sarah Viehweg, who made the shot to put her team up 47-45.

As she did all day, Kearsley answered on the other end, scoring a layup for two of her game-high 26 points.

Again, rather than milking the clock, the Eagles scored quickly when senior Abby Williams hit a short jump shot with 14 seconds remaining to make it 49-47.

Kearsley drove hard to the hoop on the other end of the floor, drawing a foul, and she made both free throws to set up her last-second heroics.

"I just told 'em they played a heck of a game," Marsh Valley coach Kyle McQuivey said of his post-game message. "What else can you say? The sun will come up tomorrow, and life will go on. We've just gotta keep improving and keep going on. That's a good team over there - Teton."

The Redskins showed that throughout, as they jumped out to a 26-20 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Eagles junior Molly Skinner almost single-handedly brought her team back.

She hit five field goals in the frame - including a 3-pointer - and two free throws, and on the strength of that 12-point explosion, Marsh Valley pulled within 37-36 entering the fourth quarter.

Skinner finished with a team-high 17 points.

"She had a heck of a game," McQuivey said. "The last two games, she's stepped up and had good games. She scored some key points for us and made it good."

In the end, though, the Eagles had no answer for the 6-foot post Kearsley, who possesses the ball-handling skills and first step of a guard.

She scored eight points in the final eight minutes, including her team's last six with under 30 seconds to play.

"That was our biggest worry. How are we gonna get her stopped, and how are we gonna match up with her?" McQuivey said. "We didn't know if we should use speed on her or use speed and a little bit of height. We used the speed, and she came out and played a heck of a game."

With the win, Teton (15-10) advances to the 3A state tournament, where it will face Kimberly (18-3) on Thursday at Skyview High.

Marsh Valley finished its season with a 12-11 mark, but the young Eagles - who only played two girls who contributed regularly on varsity a year ago - lose only Williams.

Because of that, Skinner and her teammates are already looking ahead to next season.

"I'm very excited," she said. "We're gonna have a very tough team."