OREM — Even when you're the top-ranked, defending 5A champions, nerves can get the best of you at state tournament time.

"Some of the girls haven't played in this environment before," said Skyline point guard Jenteal Jackson, after the Eagles won their first-round playoff game 57-41 against a tough Weber team. "It's a bigger crowd, bigger arena, and it probably threw us off a little. It was definitely too close for my comfort."

The Eagles were cold offensively, both from the field and free-throw line, but Jackson said the team's two leading scorers got together to help the team settle down. Jackson and forward Dani Peterson did some things between the duo that she believes made everyone feel more comfortable, while coach Deb Bennett said they also adjusted their defense in the game's final quarter when Weber trailed by just four points.

"Weber is really solid," said Bennett. "They run good offensive sets and they're good rebounders. We had to step up our defense."

Jackson, playing with four fouls, led the team defensively with three steals in the second half, while Peterson led the team scoring with 21 points and perfect freethrow shooting in the fourth quarter. Jackson finished with 17 points in the win that allows the Eagles to move onto the quarterfinals where they face Timpanogos.

One factor that really made a difference was the way Skyline's bench played, especially defensively.

"They did just what they needed to do," Bennett said. Tori Lindsay's defensive assignment was Warriors' guard Cassie O'Dell, who finished with 13 points, but just three field goals.

"I thought Tori did a really good job against her," Bennett said. "And Allie Engman and Teresa Uipi were both solid rebounding for us."

For the first three quarters it looked like the Warriors might pull off a huge upset over top-ranked Skyline behind the play of O'Dell, Emily Mueller and Kelsey Sparkman. Mueller finished with a team-high 16 points, while Sparkman was huge on the boards before fouling out in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Bennett said the team was a little nervous, especially with the pressure of trying to repeat this season. But Jackson hopes that now that the team has won its first playoff game, they'll feel more relaxed about Wednesday's quarterfinals.

"Everyone stepped up and that was huge," said Jackson. "A few of us were nervous, but we just finally got into the flow of things and settled down."

Jackson said she and Peterson made their own adjustments after three turnovers in the third quarter.

"I think it got everyone feeling better," she said. When the duo is scoring, however, that brings comfort to both players and coaches. "It seemed like their was a lid on the basket for a while."

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