The fifth-seeded Meadowdale Mavericks girls basketball team opened postseason play Wednesday night against the 12th-seeded Shorecrest Scots in The Stable at Meadowdale High School.

The Mavs survived what could have been a disastrous first quarter to dominate the Scots the rest of the way, claiming a 43-27 win to advance to the second round of the District 1 3A tournament Friday night.

At the end of the first period, Meadowdale trailed 10-1. Shorecrest had come out and pressured the perimeter, forcing some uncomfortable long-range shots that weren’t falling.

“Sometimes when our shots aren’t falling, it affects us mentally,” junior guard Gia Powell said after the game. “It’s all in our heads. At the break, we just said, don’t worry about it. Our shots are going to eventually fall, and they did, and that translated to defense and we were able to go after it.”

Go after it, they did. They roared to life in the second quarter, tying it up at 11 on a 3-pointer from Gia at the 4:48 mark and went into the half tied at 15, having outscored Shorecrest 14-5 for the period.

The momentum continued going the Mavs way in the third, riding the hot hand of Gia Powell, who poured in three 3-pointers to provide nine of the Mavs’ 13 points in the quarter, compared to just two for Shorecrest.

In addition to Powell’s heroics, sophomore Audrey Lucas provided a key moment in the third period. Battling Shorecrest’s star center Cassandra Chesnut all night for position inside, Lucas out-positioned her twice on a possession midway through the quarter for offensive rebounds, converting the second one for the score. She then followed it up with a steal on the next Scots’ possession.“It was a really big game. When I got in, I just posted up, and went after the boards.” Lucas added.

Gia Powell led the Mavs’ attack with 16, while her sister Ava added eight and Lucas had six.

The loss ended the Shorecrest season.

The win sets up a second-round matchup against Meadowdale’s cross-town rival, the fourth-seeded Lynnwood Royals. Meadowdale beat Lynnwood by 10, 76-66 on Jan. 25. The game tips off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10 at Lynnwood High School.

— Story and photos by Scott Williams