Mesquite Girls Win 5A Championship

Mid-way through the third quarter, Mesquite’s crowd already began cheering “scoreboard.”

Meaning the Wildcats had a comfortable lead, after junior starter Lindsey VanAllen came off back-to-back unanswered threes.

Mesquite overpowered the No. 3 seed Sierra Linda for a 59-38 win and rights to the Division-I 5A Girls State Championship title on Monday.

The Wildcats close the 2017 season with 26 straight wins, a Player of the Year, a Coach of the Year, and a shiny trophy.

The Grand Canyon University basketball arena echoed with rowdy high school fans on both sides, stomping their feet and recklessly whistling during every free throw.

And there were a lot of free throws.

The Wildcats shot 19 for 41 from the line, with junior Shaylee Gonzales going 11 for 13 on free throws and tallying 21 points.

“Under free throw pressure, I just didn’t listen to anyone else,” Gonzales said. “It was just me, the basket and the ball.”

Gonzales was named San Tan Player of the Year during the quarterfinal game when the Wildcats bested No. 4 seed Chaparral. Her mother, Coach Candice Gonzales was named Coach of the Year that same night.

Sierra Linda gave Mesquite a run for the money, coming out of the gate with senior guard Jenay Bojorquez plowing through double-teams for aggressive but accurate jump shots at the top of the key. It was a tough enough contest for the Wildcats to assume the full-court press by the end of the first quarter—when Bojorquez tied the game at 15 points with a foul shot.

In the end, the Bulldogs couldn’t beat Arizona’s leading rebounder, Lauren Gustin. Gustin averages 13.1 rebounds per game, but snatched a whopping 21 total on the Lopes’ hardwood. The junior forward added 12 points for her 18th double-double this season.

“I just know where the ball is,” Gustin said over the shrill of screaming fans. “I just love going for the board and being aggressive. It’s something I’m good at, I guess.”

VanAllen began the momentum for Mesquite when her uncontested long shots widened the gap to a 33-25 lead closing the third quarter.

That’s about when VanAllen said she knew the win was in the bag. Even after she was benched following her fourth foul.

“Put anyone in the game and we can trust anybody,” VanAllen said about her teammates. “It takes the whole roster to get the job done.”

As the 2017 champions are only graduating one senior, the team expects to be back at in the state finals before they even step off the court.

“We’re excited that we have the same team and the same opportunity for next year,” VanAllen said. “You’ll see this again.”

That solo senior is 5-foot-7 Lauren Harrington, who averages 2.3 points a game.

Harrington leaves the team with nothing but confidence in the future.

“I can see them coming back to the state championship and definitely competing for another one next year,” Harrington said. “It’s bittersweet, I love them all to death and I know they’re going to do great.”