(Joplin, MO) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (27-5) is advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA Division II National Tournament as it escaped a hard-fought matchup in the second round on Monday.
The No. 6 ranked Aztecs defeated No. 11 North Central Missouri College 74-65 snapping their 13-game winning streak. They advance to the quarterfinal round on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. (CT); 6:00 p.m. (Tucson time).
With the score tied at 50-50 towards the end of the third quarter, freshman Kennedi Niemann hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left as the Aztecs took the lead heading into the final quarter. The Aztecs capitalized on the momentum with a 7-0 run to make it 57-50. The Pirates cut it to a one-point deficit at 57-56, but Niemann scored another basket and hit two free throws to get the lead back up to 61-56 with 6:28 left.
Sophomore Rori Hoffmeyer (Cibola HS) fouled out with 4:45 left as the Pirates hit two free throws as Pima clinged to a 63-62 advantage. Freshman Lucy Land provided a spark off the bench as she scored two points and grabbed a defensive rebound that set up sophomore Mattanaya Vital’s (Amphitheater HS) bucket to make it 68-62 with 2:45 left.
North Central Missouri’s Honor Mannings was called for a technical foul with 2:17 left. Land and Niemann converted on four straight free throws as the Aztecs took their biggest lead of the game at 72-62 to cap off a 9-0 run. Niemann scored one more basket with under a minute remaining to close it out.
There were seven ties and four lead changes in the first half as neither team led by more than four points. The score was tied at 11-11 after the first 10 minutes of play. The Pirates closed out the second quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 33-29 lead at the break. Despite foul trouble from freshman Kiley Sours-Miller and Hoffmeyer, the Aztecs outscored North Central Missouri College 24-17 in the third quarter and 21-15 in the fourth quarter.
Niemann finished with a game-high 16 points as she went 4 for 9 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free throw line. She also had three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
“Mentally I knew I had to step up after the first half, and that three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, to see the ball go through was beneficial for me,” Niemann said. “It was a tight game all the way through. I felt confident in my free throws, and in tight moments, it was big.”
Sours-Miller closed out the game with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks, going 5 for 8 from the field.
Hoffmeyer added 11 points and six rebounds while freshman Melicia Nelson also scored 11 points and went 4 for 7 from the field. She also had six rebounds and three assists.
Vital finished with nine points and four assists. Land contributed with six points and four rebounds off the bench and sophomore Annalise Holthaus (Ironwood Ridge HS) pulled down six boards.
Niemann reflected on the impact of Nelson and Land especially with the foul trouble that the Aztecs went through during much of the game.
“Meish (Melicia) is a great player, she’s smart offensive and defensively and it was an energy builder with her three-point play (to put Pima up 46-40 in the third quarter). We played off of that,” Niemann said. “Lucy was big in the second half, she got big rebounds and made plays. It’s what we needed from our bench players. She did what she’s supposed to do and I’m proud of her.”
The Aztecs will be back at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on Wednesday night and will play the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 3 seed Lincoln Land Community College (IL) and No. 19 seed Chattahoochee Valley Community College (AL).
NCMC 11 22 17 15 65
PCC 11 18 24 21 74
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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