For the most part officials have let the girls play at this year's Nike Tournament of Champions hoops tournament. No doubt Mesquite junior guard Shaylee Gonzales can vouch for that.

After suffering through a difficult first half scoring with rough and tumble drives to the basket yielding nothing, Gonzales' offensive will and Mesquite's pressure tactics in the second half on Wednesday afternoon brought the Wildcats a decisive 63-41 victory over storied Christ the King at Mesquite High.

Mesquite (14-1) advances to Thursday's John Anderson bracket final against Incarnate Word, a 51-43 winner over Brentwood Academy. Game time is 3 p.m. at Mesqjuite.

Gonzales, the Wildcats leading scorer and floor leader the last two-plus seasons, went to intermission with two points on 1 of 8 shooting. Mesquite still enjoyed a strong opening quarter, taking a 13-5 lead with Hailey Walker scoring five of her seven points for the day.

But Christ the King enjoyed its best quarter of the contest in the second, storming past Mesquite for a 20-16 lead. Mesquite stemmed that run with back-to-back steals and baskets from junior Lindsey VanAllen late in the period to tie the game at 20. The teams went to halftime tied at 22.

That's when Mesquite made a defensive switch and the Wildcats seemed even more intent on taking the ball to the basket despite the physical nature of the action.

"We threw out a different press in the second half," Mesquite coach Candice Gonzales said., one that seemed more adept at double-teams. "When we got the ball we wanted to spread them out. We got things going our way in the third quarter, and ended up playing one of our best halves of the year."

Gonzales poured in 12 points in the third period on the way to a game-high 20. Most were on drives to the basket, but when Christ the King decided to back off she pulled back and hit two jumpers. -- one a three. Even on penetration's that didn't offer a shot she was able to dish. One assist went to VanAllen who sank a three and completed a 22-12 edge for Mesquite in the third period. VanAllen was her active self all afternoon and finished with 19 points.

Gonzales picked up her fourth foul with 6:05 left in the final period, possibly giving Christ the King a chance to come back. Mesquite , however, was on a roll and led by 14 when Gonzales sat . The Wildcats were up 19 when she returned with 2:55 to go.

Christ the King was led in scoring by Klarke Sconiers with 15 and Brandy Thomas with nine.

Two other Arizona schools made it  to the same bracket final -- Chaparral and Desert Mountain. Chaparral beat Omaha Northwest (NE), 54-35 and Desert Mountain knocked off Canyon (CA), 55-43 in the Dan Wley bracket semis. Chaparral and Desert Mountain face off in their final on Thursday at 1:30 at Highland HS.

In the elite Joe Smith bracket, Seton Catholic qualified for the fifth-place game with a 48-36 victory over Long Beach Poly. Seton is 2-1 and has played three teams ranked in MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings. Seton faces Centennial (NV) on Thursday at 1:30 at Highland HS. Centennial is also ranked in the most recent Xcellent 25 rankings.