(Mesa, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball season came to a close on Saturday in the NJCAA Region I, Division II Finals.
The No. 2 seeded Aztecs fell to No. 1 Mesa Community College 66-58 as the teams locked up for the 12th time in 14 years in the Region Finals.
The Aztecs held on to a 40-29 lead with 4:02 left in the third quarter but the Thunderbirds ended it on a 13-4 run as Pima clinged to a 44-42 advantage.
The Thunderbirds tied the score and took the lead at the 7:35 mark. Freshman Matehya Aberle tied the game at 46-46 with 7:22 left but the Thunderbirds went on an 8-0 run as the Aztecs went scoreless for six minutes. Aberle’s basket ended the drought and cut the deficit to 54-48 with 1:25 remaining.
The Aztecs were forced to foul but Mesa went 11 for 12 from the foul line in the final 1:05. The Aztecs wouldn’t go away as freshman Luisayde Chavez (Rio Rico HS) hit a three-pointer to cut it to 58-53 with 42.4 seconds left. Sophomore Melissa Simmons also hit a three-ball with 20.7 seconds on the clock to cut Mesa’s lead to 62-56.
The Aztecs led 28-19 at halftime after outscoring the Thunderbirds 15-6 in the quarter. Chavez converted on a three-point play in the first 10 seconds and Simmons gave Pima their biggest lead of the game at 34-20 after she drained a three-pointer. The Aztecs matched their biggest lead after sophomore Keara Felix hit a pair of free throws to make it 36-22 with 8:52left in the quarter.
Chavez led the Aztecs with 20 points as she went 5 for 10 from the field and 4 for 5 from three-point range. She added six rebounds and two assists. Simmons and Aberle each contributed with nine points. Freshman Jaslyn Booker (Buena HS) had 10 rebounds to go along with six points off the bench.
Coach’s Quote: “Obviously we were on both ends of the spectrum from being up as much as we were to ending up losing. The first half we played really well. I think we caught them on the heels a little bit. We rebounded the ball really well in the first half and I think that was the biggest difference,” Pima women’s basketball coach Todd Holthaus said. “In the second half we kind of hit a stretch where we couldn’t score and they were getting on the glass. That’s what kind of got it close and then we just couldn’t get a bucket to drop towards the end.
“Then you have to start fouling and they’re making free throws and we didn’t. We talk all the time about the details that matter in winning and losing a basketball game and I think the details were a big part of it tonight.”
In Pima and Mesa’s meetings in the NJCAA Region I, Division II Finals, the home team is now 11-1.
Coach’s Quote: “Playing at their place I knew was going to be tough and without Angel (Addleman), I knew that was going to be tough but we were ready and that’s what I was most proud of,” Holthaus added. “Regardless of injuries and everything we’ve been through this year, to show up on the championship game and have them where we wanted them and still end up not finishing the way we wanted to, I was real proud of the way we fought. We stayed in it and didn’t quit at the end.”
The Aztecs finished the season at 20-11 overall. They have won at least 20 games in six of the last seven seasons. The only exception being the 2020-21 Covid-19 season where Pima played 10 games.
Coach’s Quote: “The biggest thing I told the freshman was to take this and use it as their motivation to get back into the gym in a couple weeks and through the summer,” Holthaus said. “You got to start back from scratch. The baton gets handed down to the next group and we try to carry on the Pima tradition. They understand what’s at stake and I think we’re at a good place with the kids that got lots of playing time as freshman to now becoming sophomores. I like where we’re at.”
PCC 13 15 16 14 58
MCC 13 6 23 24 66
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