(Mesa, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (11-4, 4-3 in ACCAC) had its five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at rival Mesa Community College (11-3, 6-1).
The No. 10 ranked Aztecs fell to the No. 6 Thunderbirds 73-57 in a battle of NJCAA Division II ranked programs. This was the first meeting since last year’s NJCAA Region I, Division II Finals where the Thunderbirds beat the Aztecs 66-58.
The Aztecs trailed 17-11 at the end of the first quarter but scored the first five points of the second after a basket from sophomore Priscila Varela (Mesquite HS) and a three-pointer by sophomore Luisa Chavez (Rio Rico HS), cut it to 17-16 with 5:29 left in the half. The Aztecs went scoreless for five minutes as the Thunderbirds went on a 14-2 run to close the half. Pima trailed 31-18 at the break.
The Aztecs cut into Mesa’s lead in the second half but could not close the gap to single digits. The Thunderbirds hit 10 3-pointers in the game and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.
Sophomore Angel Addleman (Palo Verde HS) scored a team-high 15 points as she went 6 for 10 from the field. She also had four rebounds and four steals.
Chavez posted a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds while fellow sophomore Matehya Aberle (Holbrook HS) added 10 points and six rebounds.
The Aztecs went 13 for 13 from the free throw line as all their foul shots came in the second half.
The Aztecs are back at the West Campus Aztec Gym on Wednesday when they host Arizona Western College. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Pima 11 7 20 19 57
Mesa 17 14 22 20 73
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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