(Joplin, MO) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (27-9) closed out the 2023-24 season on Saturday with a huge victory and left an imprint in the record books at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The No. 13 seeded Aztecs defeated No. 10 Harcum College 98-87 winning the seventh-place consolation bracket. The Aztecs were selected as an at-large team; the first time the NJCAA has invoked the at-large format with 20 teams making the tournament.
The Aztecs trailed 52-44 at halftime after the Bears broke open a tie game and closed out the second quarter with an 11-3 run in the final 2:25.
The Bears outscored the Aztecs 13-6 to open the third quarter but Harcum’s standout post player Ciara Bailey picked up her third foul and went to the bench. The Aztecs took advantage with a 16-2 run as they trailed 67-66 with less than a minute left in the quarter. Freshman Rylei Waugh was fouled with 0.3 seconds left and converted, which put the score at 70-68 entering the fourth quarter.
The Aztecs took the lead back with 8:52 left in the game as Waugh hit a three-pointer for the first points of the fourth quarter. The Aztecs used a 7-0 run to make it 75-70 forcing the Bears to call timeout with 7:29 left. Freshman Rori Hoffmeyer (Cibola HS) had a chance at a three-point play but missed the free throw. Freshman Gabby Lopez (Bisbee HS) recovered the offensive board and scored to cap the run.
Bailey fouled out with 5:54 remaining as Pima clinged to a 75-74 lead. The teams traded baskets with the Aztecs holding a slim lead. Up 82-80, the Aztecs got two free throws from Lopez, a bucket by freshman Amelie Buffill-Gutierrez (Sabino HS), and two free throws from Waugh to make it 88-80 with 2:51 left. They led by five points or more the rest of the game and even held their biggest lead at 96-86 with 38.3 seconds left.
“They got it done the same way they have all year…we talk about AztecTough, it’s not just a t-shirt, it’s a real thing. It means knowing how to push through challenges, face adversity and make adjustments, but mainly don’t quit,” Pima women’s basketball coach Todd Holthaus said. “We started attacking and that helped open up the middle. The mind switched from being down to ‘we can do this.’”
Waugh set the tone as she converted on a three-point play for the first points of the game. Tied at 20-20 the Aztecs went on a 9-0 run but the Bears countered with a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 30-29. There were five ties and nine lead changes in the final 6:50 of the second quarter.
Waugh went from scoring no points in her first game of the regular season to scoring a season-high 43 points in the last game. Her point total set a new Pima Women’s Basketball school record. She was 9 for 17 from the field and 5 for 7 from three-point range. She set NJCAA Tournament records (all three Divisions) with 20 made free throws (20-23) in a game and 40 made free throws for the tournament (40-43).
Waugh fell short of the consecutive free throws record of 14 but she hit 12 in a row and finished the game making her last eight attempts. She finished with 109 points in five games (21.8 average), going 31 for 68 (.455) from the field with 25 rebounds, 19 assists and 11 steals.
“Amazing. I was told I had 41 points, and I thought ‘there’s no way I have 41 points. There’s no way that is happening in the Championship game,’” Waugh said. “Every time I hit a free throw, my teammates were cheering (my point totals) ‘41, 42,.’ I did my Dougie dance.”
The Aztecs finished the tournament with a 4-1 record; playing five games in the last six days.
“Out of all the teams, we’re the only ones that had multiple 9:00 a.m. games, five games total and played 3 days straight,” Waugh said. “We were tired, our legs were done, and we were definitely giving up but our captain Dom (Dominique Acosta) and the sophomores who have been here before, told us suck it up and said ‘we came here to finish on a good note,’ and that that’s what we did.”
Sophomore Dominique Acosta (Nogales HS) finished with her second double-double of the tournament with 13 points and 12 rebounds. She went 6 for 8 from the field.
Acosta closed out the tournament averaging 13.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and went 28 for 47 from the field (.596).
“This is one of the best post groups in my time at Pima,” Holthaus said. “I knew our length would cause problems, especially if (Ciara Bailey) got in foul trouble. We just need to outlast people sometimes and that’s what we did today.”
Buffill-Gutierrez added 10 points as she finished 5 for 6 from the field. Lopez also contributed with 10 points and six rebounds.
Holthaus talked about Waugh’s game and the impact she has on the program.
“I get to see her everyday in practice and know what she’s capable of,” he said “She loves to compete and that is her best strength, she sees everything as a challenge. A lot of people made a mistake of not recruiting her and we’re benefiting from that. She’s pretty special.”
The Aztecs went 31 for 40 (.775) from the free throw line and out-rebounded the Bears 47-37. The Aztecs snagged 20 offensive boards.
Pima finished the season with a 27-9 overall record. It is the most wins for the program since the 2015-16 season. They surpassed 20 wins in a season for the seventh straight year and eight of their last nine seasons. They also went 18-5 in ACCAC conference play; the most wins in conference since 2010-11. Pima was 16-1 at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium this season.
“Throughout the season, we only went up. We progressed and progressed and worked,” Waugh said. “We learned from our mistakes, and this was the best basketball Pima played. Our best defense, shooting, conditioning; it was the best versions of ourselves and we showed our growth.”
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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