Pine Creek struggled to shoo away Fossil Ridge for the first 32 minutes of the game.

In the final four minutes of the contest, though, the Eagles showed Fossil Ridge how to finish a game.

The No. 5-seeded Eagles closed the final 4:02 of their first-round playoff game on an 11-2 run to defeat the No. 28-seeded Sabercats 41-32 on Tuesday.

“We knew it was going to be a tough one,” Pine Creek coach Janean Jubic said. “(Fossil Ridge has) taken a lot of good teams and kept it close. We knew it’d be a battle and I’m glad we ended up on top.”

Pine Creek previously played Fossil Ridge three times with the Sabercats winning each matchup. But the Eagles and Sabercats haven’t met since Dec. 15, 2015, when Fossil Ridge earned a 34-32 win.

The Sabercats hoped to match their previous success against the Eagles, but Pine Creek’s second-quarter defense stifled their opposition.

Fossil Ridge managed just four points in the second quarter, which matched Brooklyn Stewart’s total in the period.

Stewart’s first basket of the frame, her sixth point of the game, made it 11-8 Eagles.

That score also gave Stewart 1,000 career points. Stewart, who missed the final month of her freshman year with a broken right leg, finished with a game-high 20 points and said she’s grateful for the feat.

“It’s a great accomplishment, especially as a junior,” Stewart said. “I only had half of my freshman year to play. Getting 1,000 through that is a huge accomplishment.”

The Eagles led 19-10 at halftime, but the Sabercats closed the gap in the third to 24-23 with 10 seconds left in the frame.

Stewart connected on a layup as time expired in the third to build a 26-23 lead, but the Sabercats would not relent.

Fossil Ridge tied the game at 26-26 just 30 seconds into the fourth and both teams traded baskets before the Eagles built a 30-28 lead with 4:10 on the clock.

Stewart fouled Carmen Arkin during a 3-point attempt to send the Sabercats senior to the free-throw line with a chance to take the lead.

Arkin hit two of three and knotted the game at 30-all with 4:02 on the clock.

Then the Eagles stopped playing with their food.

“We know it’s win or go home,” Leekaya Burke-Perryman said. “We tried to push and have good attitudes about the situation and just worked hard.”

Burke-Perryman locked in for the fourth and had four points, four steals and two assists in the period.

The Eagles junior also made several key plays to force Sabercat turnovers and kept Fossil Ridge from potentially swiping the lead in the fourth.

Burke-Perryman’s savvy plays and clutch baskets by Alli Dreessen, who scored 6 of her 8 in the fourth, sparked a 7-0 Eagles run and built a 37-30 lead with 2:15 on the clock and forced a Sabercats timeout.

Jubic complimented her players as they returned to the bench following the onslaught.

“I needed them to get going and believe that they had it at that point,” Jubic said. “They respond well to energy, excitement and fire. I knew that was the perfect time to honor hard work and their energy.”

After the Eagles allowed 7 points in the first four minutes of the fourth, they held the Sabercats to 2 the remainder of the contest.

Pine Creek’s victory, its 16th in a row, put the Eagles in the Sweet 16 where they’ll host another home game.

The Eagles face No. 12 Rock Canyon on Friday with a chance to advance to their first Great 8.

“Nobody believes we can get there so it will feel good to prove everybody wrong,” Burke-Perryman said.

Jubic said she’s grateful to have an additional home game and potentially make Pine Creek girls basketball history.

“It’s been their dream to make this happen,” Jubic said. “Every 6 a.m. morning practice, every workout, weight session and film session this is what their dream has been. Like Leekaya said, no one thinks we can do it. I hope that’s enough motivation for all of them in that locker room to say we’re going to get it done.”