Bickleton girls basketball coach Emily Barnhart told her young players that the best experience they could get was to play a state-championship team.

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The Pirates got that chance Thursday in the SunDome, meeting Colton in a Class 1B state quarterfinal game.

Unfortunately, the defending champions were at their best, and the Pirates suffered a 76-18 humbling by the state's top-ranked team.

"We were all nervous coming out," said forward Katelynn Clinton, who had seven points, including three of Bickleton's five field goals. "This was definitely a learning experience.

"Now we'll see what this team's made of. One of our goals coming here was to win a trophy and it's great that we still have a chance to do that."

Bickleton (16-8) will indeed achieve that goal if they can beat Wilson Creek in Friday's 2:30 p.m. consolation game. That would put the Pirates into Saturday's game for fourth and seventh place.

"We know we're not out of it," Barnhart said. "That should be enough to keep our heads up and I believe they will."

Staying positive was almost impossible Thursday as Colton's withering defensive pressure quickly made the final outcome inevitable.

Bickleton had turnovers on its first five possessions and nine total in the first quarter, and it also missed all eight shot attempts in falling behind 20-0.

Only a Clinton free throw with 13.2 seconds left prevented Colton (23-1) from posting a third straight quarter shutout in the first half of their first two games.

The Wildcats were just as good in the second quarter, ultimately forcing 23 first-half turnovers while limiting Bickleton to 2 of 12 shooting.

"We try to get really focused (before the game)," sophomore guard Haley Moser said of the Wildcats' defense. "It's fun to get all those defensive stops."

Colton coach Clark Vining called his team's first-half defensive effort "right up there" with their best this season.

"We had good intensity," he said. "The key was that we played good team defense. It takes all five players to guard Clinton."

"It was frustrating, but they (Colton) have a great defense," said Clinton, who made just 3 of 13 shots after a 35-point performance in Thursday's opening-round victory.

"We walked in with a deer-in-the-headlights look, and walked out with a deer-in-the-headlights look. We never got rid of it," Barnhart said.

"(But) they've never seen a team like (Colton)."

Bickleton finished with 39 turnovers, leading to 42 Colton points.

Colton offset an poor shooting night (34.6 percent) a 13 of 42 effort from 3-point range, including hitting 10 of its final 24 starting late in the second quarter.

Moser led that charge, hitting 5 of 12 triples en route to a game-best 23 points. She made three late in the second quarter as part of a 12-1 run, and added two more in a 14-0 burst to open the third quarter that gave Colton a 50-10 lead.

"We shoot them a lot," Moser said of the threes. "We can shoot them when we're open."