(Mesa, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (25-7) is heading back to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament after beating Mesa Community College (21-10) on Saturday in the Region I finals.
The No. 2 seeded Aztecs defeated the No. 1 seeded Thunderbirds 76-59. This is the first time in the storied rivalry with Pima and Mesa that the road team has claimed victory in the Region I finals. This was the 11th meeting in 12 years between the two programs for the Region I, Division II crown.
“I don’t know if it has sunk in yet. I’m just really happy for the kids,” Pima women’s basketball coach Todd Holthaus said. “The sophomores did an amazing job leading all year. This feels good.”
The Aztecs led 34-24 at halftime and started the third quarter on a 10-1 run to take a 44-25 lead. They led 50-30 with 5:06 left but the Thunderbirds countered with a 10-2 run to cut it to a 52-40 score. The Aztecs closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 59-40 lead entering the fourth.
The Aztecs led the entire game. Sophomore Alyssa Perez (Marna HS) scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer and scored Pima’s first eight of nine points. The Aztecs held a 15-8 lead after the first quarter and used a 7-0 run in the second to take a 26-12 advantage. The Thunderbirds looked to gain momentum as they cut it to 26-19 with 1:35 left in the half but sophomore Haile Gleason hit back-to-back three-pointers to halt the run and make it 32-19 with under a minute left.
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“Coming into the game, I knew I had to be aggressive and I had to be smart with the ball,” Perez said. “I felt like I had it on my shoulders to set the tone and get my teammates involved. I couldn’t do it without my teammates.”
Perez shot 6 for 9 from the floor with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds.
Gleason and freshman Sierra Mich’l combined to score 30 points off the bench. Gleason finished with 17 points as went 6 for 10 in total field goals and 3 for 6 from behind the arc. Mich’l scored 13 points on 5 for 7 shooting along with seven rebounds and three blocks.
Freshman Aaliyah Ortiz (Palo Verde HS) had 12 points, four rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks while fellow freshman Fama Thiam (Highland HS) had 10 blocks, five rebounds, two assists and a block. Sophomore Hallie Lawson contributed with seven points and 10 rebounds.
“We came prepared and we knew what we were going to do,” Thiam said. “We didn’t want to give them any chance and we just went at them. My coaches got me ready for this game and told me to pick up every point guard and that’s what I did.”
The Aztecs will compete in the NJCAA Division II Tournament in Port Huron, MI from Mar. 17-21.
PCC 15 19 25 17 76
MCC 8 16 16 19 59
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics
