(Yuma, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (20-6, 13-5 in ACCAC) picked up its 20th win of the season on Wednesday in its road win at Arizona Western College (18-7, 11-7).
The No. 15 ranked Aztecs (Division II) defeated the Matadors 74-64 snapping their five-game winning streak. The Aztecs have won 20 or more games in seven of the last eight years. The exception was the 2020-21 pandemic season.
Up 13-11 in the first quarter, the Aztecs closed out the final 6:04 with a 15-0 run to take a 28-11 lead. The Aztecs went 11 for 18 from the field and 5 for 8 from three-point range. The Aztecs took their biggest lead of the game in the 2nd quarter when sophomore Angel Addleman (Palo Verde HS) scored to make it 38-17. The Aztecs led 40-23 at halftime.
Up 55-35 with 3:17 left in the third quarter, the Matadors scored the final six points to gain some momentum as Pima led 57-41. The momentum carried into the fourth as Arizona Western went on a 18-6 run in the first six and a half minutes and cut Pima’s lead to four points at 63-59 with 4:29 left on the clock. The Aztecs got four free throws from sophomore Torrance Begay (Page HS) and a basket by Addlerman to give Pima some breathing room at 69-60 at the 2:21 mark.
Freshman Rayn Holton (Casteel HS) grabbed a crucial defensive rebound and was fouled. She drained two free throws to give Pima a double-digit lead once again at 71-60 with 2:05 remaining. The Matadors cut it to seven points at 71-64 but the Aztecs hit three final free throws to seal it.
Begay finished with a game-high 24 points as she went 7 for 11 from the field and 4 for 5 from three-point range. She also went 6 for 8 from the free throw stripe. Begay scored seven points as part of the first quarter run and six points in the fourth quarter to help preserve Pima’s lead.
Sophomore Matehya Aberle (Holbrook HS) fell short of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds while fellow sophomore Luisa Chavez (Rio Rico HS) flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Addleman and sophomore Aiona Johnson each posted nine points.
The Aztecs will hit the road once again on Saturday when they play at Glendale Community College. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.
PCC 28 12 17 17 74
AWC 11 12 18 23 64
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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