Shadow Mountain didn't know what to expect from Mesquite when the teams met Friday night and the Matadors found out quickly.

Mesquite shot out to a 17-point lead after the first period. Shadow Mountain may have been dazed a bit, but it had an avalanche of its own coming as the game progressed.

Led by junior Senya Rabouin, Shadow Mountain roared back for a convincing 73-60 victory at Mesquite in a battle of teams that should be hanging around deep in the 4A playoffs come February.

Rabouin poured in a game-high and season high 36 points after scoring three points in the first period. The heady guard hit for 21 points in the second half and 15 in the final quarter. She was as good outside as she was taking it to the basket and dishing to teammates. Rabouin made back-to-back treys to open the fourth quarter and completed two three-point plays in transition in the final quarter. Forward Dyamond Butler-Worley added 17 points doing most of her damage inside.

"We had never seen them before," Shadow Mountain coach Erica Farnsworth said. "We knew they were good and they gave us a wake-up call. They put us on our heels, and we needed to match their intensity."

Mesquite (5-4) indeed opened with the most energy and intensity. Moving the ball crisply and hitting high percentage shots the Wildcats led 27-10 after the first eight minutes. Mesquite connected on 12 of 17 shots - seven of them layups. Senior forward Olivia Champion, who led Mesquite with 20 points, was limited to four points in the second half. She made here first five shots of the game as part of the Wildcats' sizzling start. Zyan Smith also hit double figures for the Wildcats finishing with 11.

Shadow Mountain (7-2) gradually began its game-long rally in he second period, quietly cutting the deficit to 42-30 at halftime. They pulled within 49-48 after three quarters and led most of the final period -- the final 5 1/2 minutes after Butler-Worley's putback made it 56-55 touching off 15-2 run.

"We had a nice talk at halftime," Farnsworth said. "We reminded them nothing's over until it's over. That's the mentality we had. We got it done defensively."

Mesquite coach Candice Gonzales was pleased with the overall play initially, but the second half brought what has been the Wildcats' Achilles heel - turnovers.

"We had five turnovers in the first half and 15 in the second," Gonzales said. "Most of those turnovers resulted in points for them. They capitalized on them. We're need to do a better job of taking care of the ball and we'll be fine."