Mesquite usedeffective  pressure up front  all night and clutch free-throw shooting in the final three and a half minutes Wednesday night to deal visiting Marcos de Niza a 60-50 loss in the first round of the Division I state girls basketball tournament.

Mesquite (17-12), the No. 15 seed  moves on to face No. 2 Highland, a team the Lady Wildcats have lost to twice this season. That game takes place Friday (Feb.15) at 7 p.m. at Highland.

Mesquite's first loss to Highland was 44-21 on Jan. 17, the 700th win for Highland coach Miner Webster. The teams met just a week ago and Highland escaped wtih a 42-41 triumph in the opening round of sectionals. No 18 Marcos de Niza completed its season at 21-9.

Mesquite got balanced scoring from its five starters and its first reserve. Junior Cecily Wilson led with 16 points (14 in the first three quarters), and 11 from junior Rebecca Tilley. Freshmen Issy Spruit and Alexis Springfield and senior Ashley Alexander (first off the bench) tallied nine points each. Senior Ally Exline added six points. Alexander scored seven of her nine in he final period.  

Mesquite was ahead nearly all of the final three periods, anywhere from two to eight points. Its largest lead in the second half prior to the final two minutes was 31-24 early in the third, but Marcos de Niza whittled away at the lead and tied the score twice at 42 and 44 with just more than five minutes to play. A 16-6 run to the finish, propelled by 13-of-14 shooting from the free-throw line the final 3:36, earned Mesquite and its young team another postseason game.

"I think the girls stepping up and playing good defense was the difference," Mesquite coach Candice Gonzales said. "We played like we should."

Mesquite trailed most of the first quarter, but grabbed its first lead late in the quarter to take a 10-8 edge to the second. Mesquite forced most of Marcos de Niza's 25 turnovers and despite not shooting as well from the field as Marcos, Mesquite used its defensive prowess to good advantage. Mesquite committed 11 turnovers in comparison.

Mesquite took the lead for good, 47-44, when one of two starting freshmen, -- Issy Spruit - banked in a 3-point shot. Seven-of-eight free throws by Ashley Alexander and another freshman (Alexis Springfield), helped bump the margin to 54-46.

Marcos responded with two basket and a steal and forced a five-second call to pull within 54-50 with 1;06 left. Sophia Anaya, who led Marcos de Niza along with Jorie Mayfield in scoring with 11 points each, had a short jumper go in and out with 1:00 left. Mesquite's Ally Exline, Rebecca Tilley and Wilson canned 6-of-6 free throws, the last two with 20 seconds left, to close out Marcos de Niza.

Marcos de Niza's leading scorer, senior post Sydnie Lengyel, finished with 10 points. Lengyel was the focus of Mesquite's defense.

"You can't take anything away from Mesquite, they played good defense," Marcos de Niza coach Jerome Whitaker said. "They defended the post well and made it tough for us to make entry passes....

"We did a good job fighting back at the end. We play hard. These girls don't give up."

Gonzales believes her team will be fired up for the quick rematch with Highland.

"It's been forever since this group of girls felt they could play with Highland," Gonzales said. "After last week, they know they can do it."