(Hickory, NC) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (29-4) picked up the upset of the tournament on Friday as it handed Johnson County Community College its first loss of the season in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament Semifinal round.
The No. 4 seeded Aztecs beat the No. 1 Cavaliers 68-67 halting their 38-game winning streak dating back to the 2024-25 season, which included beating the Aztecs in the 2025 National Championship game.
The Aztecs trailed 67-62 with 2:34 left after Johnson County hit a three-pointer to match their biggest lead of the game. Sophomores Kiley Sours-Miller (Dream City Christian) and Melicia Nelson (Window Rock HS) scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to one point at 67-66 with 1:59 remaining.
Nelson scored on a step through layup in the paint with 25 seconds left. Johnson County’s Mia Adams missed her shot in the paint and Layla Scott grabbed the offensive rebound. Freshman Kahlia Gonzales(Mesquite HS) contested the final shot attempt and got the block as time expired.
The lead changes eight times in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. There were 12 ties and 15 lead changes total.
The Cavaliers (34-1) took their first five-point lead at 14-9 in the first quarter, but the Aztecs went on a 9-0 run to take a 18-14 advantage.
The Aztecs trailed 26-24 in the second quarter and used a 10-0 run to grab their biggest lead of the game at 34-26. Sours-Miller and freshman Reigne Waugh scored four points each and Nelson capped off the run with two free throws. Johnson County closed out the half with five straight points to make it 34-31 at halftime.
The Aztecs took a 44-39 lead in the third quarter after baskets from freshman Lucy Fisher (Mesquite HS), Sours-Miller and Nelson, but the Cavaliers finished off the quarter on a 10-4 run to retake the lead at 49-48.
Nelson scored a game-high 22 points to go with 12 rebounds, eight assists and six steals. She was 8-for-20 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
“We just had to stay dialed in from the beginning, locked in and focused the entire game. We knew the game wasn’t over till the buzzer sounded,” Nelson said. “This is our revenge tour (for the sophomores). We fell short last year (to Johnson County), but this is the year.”
Sours-Miller finished with 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Waugh added 10 points and two rebounds while sophomores Lucy Land and Cassie Coolidge (Sahuaro HS) each contributed with six points off the bench.
“This was a lot of pressure especially on the sophomores coming back from losing to Johnson County last year in the National Championship. Everyone on the team came through today with energy and wanted it just as bad as the sophomores, and we really came together as a team,” Land said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We kept saying to each other, ‘it’s not over till the buzzer beats.’ Just keep playing hard, and we pulled through today.”
The Aztecs got out-rebounded 35-32 but outscored the Cavaliers 40-24 in points-in-the-paint. Both teams had 20 turnovers.
The Aztecs will play in their second straight NJCAA Division II National Championship game on Saturday. They will face off against No. 6 seed Kirkwood Community College (30-4) on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (EDT); 3:00 p.m. Tucson time.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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