The scorekeepers didn’t make a mistake. 

The Mesquite Wildcats did make only three field goal in the first half of Thursday’s 4A championship game. Even 28-year coach Candice Gonzales said she was embarrassed. 

But it’s not how a team starts; it's how it finishes.

And Mesquite closed its 2025-26 campaign like a champ while upending a gamely Paradise Honors 39-38 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The finale was a microcosm of the Wildcats' season. 

The team rolled out a new starting five this season and, not surprisingly, struggled at times. It lost seven games during a 10-game stretch against tough competition. 

But that seemed to strengthen the Wildcats, as they lost only once during the remainder of their season. 

In the third quarter, after Gonzales implored her team at halftime to start playing like the road warriors she saw in the quarterfinals and semifinals, they did just that. Immediately. 

Lizzie Norton's hustle led to a basket and a Mesquite second chance field goal to help tie the game at 14-14. Sensing the momentum shift, Paradise Honors quickly called a timeout--1 minute and 12 seconds into the third quarter. 

Still, Mesquite made seven of its 14 shots in that quarter. 

And to punctuate the turnaround, Mesquite’s Averi Mehlberg's heave from just beyond half-court beat the buzzer to take a 27-24 lead.

The bond the team eventually created during its trials was evident right after buzzer-beater. 

“I barely even saw the ball go in,” Mehlberg said. “Everybody just started rushing at me. It’s just a moment that everybody wants when they are playing in a state championship--to hit a big shot. And I am just so grateful that it was me."  

She also wrapped up the fourth quarter for her team in one of her finest moments, and Mehlberg didn’t even have to touch the ball to call game. 

Paradise Honors’ Lizzy Guincho (team-high 11 points, 9 boards) drove the lane and scored, pulling her team to within a point (39-38) with time still remaining. 

But the keen Mehlberg knew that time was on her side, allowing the clock to expire instead of inbounding the ball.

Game over. 

“I watch basketball all of the time, and I just saw the clock winding down, and thought what’s the point of getting the ball and risking a turnover,” Mehlberg said. “So I just let it run out." 

Mehlberg tallied a team-high 12 points in her final high school game.  

Paradise Honors also deserves some praise, as the 2025-26 Panthers became the first squad in their program’s history to reach a title game. They also ended their season with the most wins (24) in the program’s 15-year history.

Paradise Honors accomplished a lot of firsts this season. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)The Panthers will return three starters, sophomores Hala Aoufe and Guincho and freshman Aveda Soriano, next season. Mesquite’s only senior starters, Mehlberg and Mariah Willis, hit key back-to-back threes in the third quarter to put their team up 33-29. 

Mesquite capped its campaign with a 25-7 record. For Gonzales, this season was extra special, because she won her second title alongside her daughter, Skylie, a shooting guard who transitioned to the point this season to fill a need.

Skylie Gonzales and her mom, Candice, had plenty of reasons to smile after helping lead their program to a second title. Skylie scored seven points in her tam's big third quarter. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)Gonzales isn’t done coaching this month. She was recently selected as the coach of the West team for the March 31st McDonald’s All-American Game at Desert Diamond Arena. 

“It’s just sweet,” she said. “You put so much time and energy into the game of basketball and coaching and doing what you love. And it’s so nice to get that end reward no matter how ugly it is."

Mesquite’s Jensen Cowart’s game-high 10 rebounds in 32 minutes helped her earn MVP honors. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)