Chandler and Mesa Mountain View have not waivered in their bid to be strong 5A-I contenders in girls basketball this season. With the teams heading to state next week as top-4 seeds neither wanted to enter the tournament with a bad taste in its mouth.

One team had to Thursday night and it happened to be Chandler. Mountain View overcame a scoreless first quarter and 17-point deficit to hand Chandler a 53-52 loss at Mountain View.

Junior guard Arnecia Hawkins sank two free throws with nine seconds left to provide the margin of victory and give Mountain View (23-2) its only lead of the game. Chandler (21-5) fell for the first time in six weeks, a loss on Jan. 4 to St. Mary's. The Wolves lost the turnover battle (23-20), but essentially lost the game at the free-throw line by making just 5-of-19 attempts.

Hawkins finished the night sharing team-scoring honors with fellow guard Renee Coggins. Both tailled 16 points.

"We managed to keep our cool and didn't get frazzled," Mountain View coach Henry Bribiescas said. "We had a game with Highland on MLK Day that was like this one and we were able to come back. We pointed to that game to show it could be done."

Mountain View made its first bid at a comeback late in the third period when it sliced Chandler's lead to 31-26. But by the 4:30 mark of the final period the deficit had grown to 49-38 and a second push seemed unlikely. Hawkins keyed a 15-3 run to close the game with eight points. A couple of layups , a putback and a steal after her game-winning free throws with five seconds left denied Chandler a chance at a game winning possession.

For Hawkins and Mountain View it was an amazing  triumph. Chandler amassed a 17-0 lead after one period with the Wolves' pressure and inside game putting the Toros on their heels. Chandler junior post Je Zhe Newton (game-high 21 points) scored eight points in the opening period and 13 in the the first half. That equaled Mountain View's point total for the first 16 minutes.

Mountain View was 0-for-12 from the field in the first period and turned the ball over eight times. The Toros did get good looks on most shots, but got none to fall. To some degree that kept their spirits up at intermission.

"We weren't happy with the first half, but it was over," Hawkins said. "We came out and executed our plays. We shot better, and didn't give up."

Hawkins and Coggins, who lead the Toros in scoring on the season, combined to shoot 2-of-17 from the floor in the first half. Hawkins was 0-10 until she made her first basket with 4:41 left in the third period. All her points came from that point forward.

"Chandler is the best team we've faced all season," Bribiescas said. "Their pressure is hard to overcome.  We ran 5-on-7, 5-on-8 in practice trying to simulate it.  Having a game like this at the end of the season and being able to win it is huge. My biggest  worry coming in was how would be respond if we lost or played poorly. The girls gave a great effort."