(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (17-7, 10-5 in ACCAC) picked up its fifth straight victory on Friday after displaying some red-hot shooting to beat Scottsdale Community College (10-8, 4-6).
The No. 12 ranked Aztecs started off slow but roared back to beat the Artichokes 79-50 at the West Campus Aztec Gym.
Sophomore Melissa Simmons popped off in the third quarter as she hit three straight 3-pointers to give the Aztecs a 37-22 lead. The Artichokes called timeout with 8:09 on the clock. The Aztecs turned it into a 17-1 run in the first five and-a-half minutes. Scottsdale scored their first field goal of the quarter at the 2:41 mark. The Aztecs went 10 for 15 from the field and 5 for 6 from three-point range as Pima took a 53-31 after the third quarter.
The Aztecs continued to pour it on in the fourth hitting their first five of six shots and finishing 10 for 19 from the field. The Aztecs went 20 for 34 (59 percent) in the second half and hit 12 3-pointers for the game.
The Aztecs went 3 for 16 in the first quarter and trailed 18-7. Freshman Jaden Leslie (Dobson HS) got things going with back-to-back treys to open the second quarter. Scottsdale scored to keep a 20-13 advantage but the Aztecs went on a 12-0 run to take a 25-20 lead. The Artichokes scored one more field goal in the quarter at the 2:19 mark. The Aztecs took a 28-22 lead at the break outscoring the Artichokes 21-4 for the quarter.
Simmons finished with a game-high 23 points going 8 for 13 from the field and 7 for 11 from three-point range. She was 5 for 6 from the field and 4 for 4 in three-balls in the third quarter alone.
Leslie scored eight of her 13 points in the second quarter and also had seven rebounds off the bench.
Freshman Luisayde Chavez (Rio Rico HS) finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists while fellow freshman Angel Addleman (Palo Verde HS) had 10 points, five assists and three steals.
The Aztecs out-rebounded the Artichokes 56-32. Sophomore Nikya Orange (Tanque Verde HS) had 12 boards while freshman Jaslyn Booker (Buena HS) finished with 11 rebounds.
The Aztecs look to continue their momentum as they play at South Mountain Community College on Saturday in Phoenix. Game time is at 2:00 p.m.
SCC 18 4 9 19 50
PCC 7 21 25 26 79
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
