(Mesa, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (8-2, 4-1 in ACCAC) was in a battle on Wednesday as two NJCAA Division II nationally ranked teams squared off at Mesa Community College (9-2, 5-0).
The No. 9 ranked Aztecs fell to the No. 8 Thunderbirds 74-57 on Wednesday in Mesa.
The Aztecs cut the deficit to six points after back-to-back baskets from freshman Kiley Sours-Miller and sophomore Tayden Hanks made it 61-55 with 3:28 left in the game. The Thunderbirds scored six straight points to get it back to a double-digit lead for good. Mesa finished the game with a 13-2 run.
Freshman Ahdiayh Chee (Dobson HS) provided a spark for the Aztecs in the first quarter as she hit three 3-pointers. Her final three-ball put the Aztecs ahead 15-12 but Mesa went on an 11-0 run between the first and second quarters to take the lead for good.
Sours Miller scored three straight points to cut Mesa’s lead to 29-24 in the second quarter, but the Thunderbirds went on a 9-0 run and eventually took a 40-28 lead at halftime.
Sours-Miller finished with a team-high 14 points on 5 for 6 shooting as she also had seven rebounds and two blocks.
Chee was 3 for 5 from three-point range as she finished with 10 points off the bench. Sophomore Mattanaya Vital (Amphitheater HS) posted nine points.
Sophomore Rori Hoffmeyer (Cibola HS) added six points and six rebounds while fellow sophomore Kennedi Niemann finished the game with six points.
The Aztecs will step away from ACCAC conference play on Saturday when they host Park University JV in the fourth annual Indigenous People’s Game celebration. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez