Ilana Hambro is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesquite High School for AZPreps 365.

A dominant third-quarter run helped Mesquite cruise past Arcadia 75-36 on Wednesday night. 

No. 2 Mesquite advances to play No. 3 Saguaro at home in the second round of the state championship playoffs on Tuesday. 

The Wildcats opened the first round of the 4A state playoffs with possession off the jump, quickly gaining a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes.

With Mesquite pressuring, the Titans were challenged to get a foot past half-court. Behind Lucy Fisher's 15 points and Kahila Gonzales' 11, the Wildcats became an unstoppable force. 

Lyssea Mescal buried a 3-point buzzer-beater to give Mesquite a 39-24 lead at halftime, sending a wave of energy through the crowd as both teams headed toward the locker room. 

Mesquite started the third quarter slow, missing back-to-back baskets but made up for it on defense by not giving Arcadia open shots. Coach Candice Gonzales acknowledged the slow start and called a timeout. 

“It was mostly all about focusing on the finish. I feel like we didn't have the hustle and the intensity and drive in the first half,” Candice Gonzales said. “I felt like at halftime we needed to make some mind adjustments so that we could be more intense, more grit and more focused.”

Back on track, the Wildcats put up swift jumpers and maintained clean ball movement from players like Lucy Lohman, Navae Guidry and Vanessa Sepulveda. Mya Way finished powerfully around the rim, increasing the lead to 61-32 into the fourth quarter. 

“I feel like overall we did great in the second half,” Way said. “We had a slow start in the beginning but overall I feel like we have a good chance of making it all the way this year.”

Sophomore Kahlia Gonzales, who scored 16 points, hopes to stay persistent and develop as a team at practice to prepare for its next battle in the state playoffs.

“If we stay consistent, then we will be able to pull through with all of the wins but at practice just going hard every day and not taking a day off,” Kahila Gonzales said. 

Not as satisfied as she would’ve liked to be after the win, Candice Gonzales said that the team will have work to do in the next week for round two.

“It feels great but I still feel like we have more growth,” Candice Gonzales said. “We still haven't hit our peak, [and] we still haven’t played our best. Some of us are playing at a five and a six, I need us playing at an eight, nine, 10.”