(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (26-5) is top on top of the mountain in Region I, Division II as the Aztecs played at Mesa Community College (24-8) on Saturday in the championship round.
The No. 2 seeded Aztecs defeated the No. 1 seeded Thunderbirds 71-66 winning their second Region I, Division II championship in three years. It was also just the second time the road team has won the region title in 17 meetings between Pima and Mesa. The Aztecs beat Mesa on their home court to win the 2019-20 crown.
The Aztecs trailed 50-49 heading into the fourth quarter but started out with a 7-0 run to take the lead back at 56-50. The Thunderbirds hit a pair of free throws to cut it to a four-point deficit, but freshman Melicia Nelson (Window Rock HS) drained a big three-pointer to make it 61-54.
Later in the quarter, the Thunderbirds hit a three-pointer to cut it to a one-point game at 63-62 with 1:28 left but the Aztecs fed freshman Kiley Sours-Miller in the post for the score. Mesa cut it to a one-point game once again, but Nelson hit another big bucket on the other end to put it at 67-64 with 27.6 seconds left.
The Thunderbirds turned the ball over on their next possession and freshman Kennedi Niemann converted on a three-point play to make it 70-64 with 19.2 seconds left to help close it out.
The Aztecs held the Thunderbirds to 2 for 13 from the field and scoreless for the final 5:11 in the first quarter to take a 16-4 lead. The Thunderbirds cut into Pima’s lead in the second quarter and finished with an 8-2 run to close it out but the Aztecs remained ahead 29-25.
The Aztecs maintained a slim lead in the third quarter but there were three ties and Mesa went on a 10-4 run towards the end of the quarter to take their first lead since 2-0 in the opening minutes.
Kiley Sours-Miller with the MVP trophy/Photo by Raymond Suarez
Sours-Miller was named the Region I, Division II Finals Most Valuable Player as she posted her 16th double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. She had seven offensive rebounds and had two blocks.
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight coming in here and we just had to stay locked in. There was no time for celebration after the Scottsdale (semifinal) game,” Sours-Miller said. “The fans were a big factor. Thank you to everybody who came out to the game. We’re still not done. We got to go win this national championship.”
Sophomore Mattanaya Vital was a threat from beyond the arc as she went 5 for 9 shooting and 4 for 6 from three-point range finishing with 15 points to go with three steals and two assists.
“My teammates really set me up for success tonight; finding me coming off the pick-and-rolls and curls and like I said, ‘If I get a little glance at it, there’s a chance it is going in,’” Vital said. “We knew this game was just going to be about toughness. We know them pretty well and they probably know us even better, so it just came down to who was tougher and who stuck together.”
Nelson scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half as she added five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Amelie Buffill-Gutierrez (Sabino HS) netted eight points off the bench.
Sophomore Rori Hoffmeyer (Cibola HS) closed out the game with seven points, along with 13 rebounds and four assists. The Aztecs held the Thunderbirds to two offensive rebounds.
“My first reaction was, ‘Dang, are you kidding?’ I thought the stat sheet was wrong,” Hoffmeyer said. “They are a good offensive rebounding team, and I knew we had to step up on defense, we had to box out and I knew we were the better team at the end of the day.”
Niemann contributed with seven points and three rebounds.
The Aztecs await their seeding for the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, which will be from Mar. 17-22 at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in Joplin, MO. The Selection Show will be broadcasted on the NJCAA Network and on their Twitter/X page on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. Tucson time).
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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