There were no surprises in the first round of the 5A-I girls basketball tournament on Tuesday and several expected close first-round games on the boys side on Wednesday. That sets up two very good 5A-I girls quarterfinals on Friday and four quality quarters for the boys on Saturday.

Here's a brief look at those games:

FRIDAY'S 5A-I GIRLS QUARTERFINALS (all games at 7 p.m.): -  #8 Alhambra at #1 St. Mary's; #5 Xavier at #4 Highland; #6 Hamilton at #3 Mesa Mtn. View and #7 Buena at #2 Chandler. OUTLOOK: Alhambra and Buena just don't have the wherewithal to play with St. Mary's and Chandler. Those games should fall quickly and easily to St. Mary's and Chandler. Xavier-Highland and Hamilton-Mtn. View are another matter. Xavier clipped Highland in early December, 63-61. Xavier guards Rikki Mulloy and Aubrey Lincoln are the biggest concerns for Highland. Xavier's ability to pressure Highland's backcourt is a key for the Gators. If Highland is able to run its half-court offense it has a solid inside presence with Kaile Magazzeni and three good perimeter shooters in Cassi Damyanovich, Jordan Hagen and Alyssa Heeman. Mtn. View handled Hamilton in mid-December at the NIke I TOC. The Toros have handled pressure from the opposition quite well. They are patient on offense and have the ability to score inside and out, led by Arnecia Hawkins and Renee Coggins (outside) and Jordan Jensen (inside). Hamilton will need a more balanced attack than it had in its first-round win over Dobson, which could happen if the Huskies avoid foul trouble. The Huskies have had a difficult time beating top contenders so this is another in that line of tests (Hamilton is 1-6 against St. Mary's, Xavier, Highland, Mountain View and Chandler).

SATURDAY'S 5A-I BOYS QUARTERFINALS (all games at 7 p.m.): - #9 Desert Vista at #1 Buena; #5 Corona del Sol at #4 Mesa Mtn. View; #6 Brophy at #3 North; #7 Mountain Pointe at #2 Mesa. OUTLOOK:  Buena may have felt too comfortable having dodged Red Mountain and Mesquite in the late-season musical chairs of the power-point rankings. Buena got all it wanted from Kofa in the first round, but made a huge basket and free throws down the stretch to hold off the Kings. Desert Vista will have to make a longer road trip in the quarters, but was buoyed by rallying from double-digts down to host Salpointe and winning by four. Desert Vista matches up well with Buena and the Colts, despite being the No. 1 seed, will have to be at the top of their game to oust Desert Vista. Corona and Mtn. View split games during the regular season in Central Region play. Both teams took no prisoners in first-round wins over Desert Ridge and Mesquite. How well Corona defends inside with Avery Moss and Andrus Peat against the Toros Cam Boone and Kyle Bingham  will be a key as will how the Toros' guards handle pressure in frontcourt. Expect the Aztecs Calaen Robinson and the Toros Jaren Sweeney to sport their usual games. Sweeney missed much of the second meeting between the teams with an ankle injury. North doesn't need much help  for burly center Alan Williams, but if the Mustangs receive it from the getgo it will be hard for Brophy to keep North from the semifinals. Few teams have a player that can physically match up with Williams - Brophy is not one of them. Williams had 27 points and 18 rebounds vs. Brophy when the Mustangs prevailed by 11 back on Jan. 4. The Broncos need a big night from Sai Tummula to have a shot at dethroning the defending champs. Mesa and Mountain Pointe have not met this season, but it's intriguing since Mesa standout Jahii Carson played his freshman and sophomore seasons for Mountain Pointe.  Mountain Pointe is the most athletic team Mesa has faced this year and has several defenders it can throw at Carson to try and slow him or force others to step up for Mesa. Mesa has played better competition over the last seven weeks than Mountain Pointe, which could be a deciding factor. Mesa won't have one of its starters and better defenders in Charles Croxen, who was ejected from Mesa's first-round game with Tucson and must sit ou the quarterfinal contest. Mountain Pointe has more weapons than Mesa. If all are clicking the Pride could find themselves in the semis just as easily as the Jackrabbits. Both teams lost in the quarterfinals last year.