(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (23-6, 16-5 in ACCAC) picked up a pivotal victory on Saturday against Central Arizona College (15-15, 10-11) at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
The No. 13 ranked Aztecs defeated the Vaqueras 70-68. The Aztecs have won 12 of their last 14 games. They secured home court throughout the NJCAA Region I, Division II Tournament as the No. 1 seed with Mesa Community College’s loss to Scottsdale Community College.
Down 58-55 with 8:00 left, the Aztecs put together a 10-2 run mainly comprised of free throws as they went 6 for 7 during that stretch. Sophomores Torrance Begay (Page HS) and Matehya Aberle (Holbrook HS) scored baskets as Pima took a 65-60 lead with 3:53 left. Abele hit another pair of free throws to make it 69-64 but the Vaqueras hit a three-pointer and called timeout with 1:37 left.
Central Arizona cut it to one with a free throw to make it 69-68 with 8.6 seconds remaining. Sophomore Aiona Johnson was fouled and converted on 1 of 2 foul shots with 6.8 seconds on the clock. The Vaqueras brought it up court but lost the ball out of bounds and the Aztecs dribbled out the final 0.3 seconds.
The Aztecs went 3 for 12 in the first quarter and trailed 20-12 but bounced back putting together a 20-5 run to take a 32-25 advantage. The Vaqueras countered with an 11-6 run as Pima led 38-36 at the break.
Photo – Pima Athletics
The Vaqueras opened the third quarter scoring the first six points. Facing a 48-41 deficit, the Aztecs closed out the quarter on a 10-3 run to tie it up at 51-51 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Aztecs finished the game going 22 for 30 from the free throw line. Addleman had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also added five assists. Begay also scored 14 points and had seven rebounds. Johnson also posted 14 points to go with six rebounds.
Aberle went 4 for 5 from the field and had 12 points. She fell short of a double-double as she added nine rebounds.
The Aztecs recognized 11 sophomores before the game: Matehya Aberle (Holbrook HS), Angel Addleman (Palo Verde HS), Torrance Begay (Page HS), Luisa Chavez (Rio Rico HS), Cienna Crawford (Rincon HS), Aiona Johnson, Jaden Leslie (Dobson HS), Calista McLean, Camilla Norton, Mariam Traore and Priscila Varela (Mesquite HS).
The Aztecs will close out the regular season on Tuesday when they play at Eastern Arizona College. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
CAC 20 16 15 17 68
PCC 12 26 13 19 70
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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