(Tucson, AZ). The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (25-4) is heading back to the Region I, Division II Finals for the 15th time in 17 seasons.
The No. 1 seeded Aztecs defeated No. 4 Phoenix College 78-55 winning their 13th straight game. The Aztecs will host Mesa Community College in Friday’s Region Final at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium. The Thunderbirds beat Scottsdale Community College 87-73 in double overtime to advance.
The Aztecs closed out the first quarter on a 10-2 run as sophomore Cassie Coolidge (Sahuaro HS) hit two 3-pointers to put the Aztecs ahead. Freshman Nevaeh Urenda (Flowing Wells HS) drained a three-pointer to end the quarter as Pima led 22-12.
Freshman Lucy Fisher (Mesquite HS) helped maintain a double-digit lead in the second quarter as she scored nine straight points. The Aztecs led 34-23 at halftime.
They solidified their double-digit advantage with an 8-0 run holding the Bears (12-16) scoreless for five and a half minutes. Freshman Kahlia Gonzales (Mesquite HS) hit a three-pointer to make it 49-28 as Pima outscored Phoenix College 17-9 in the third quarter.
The Bears cut Pima’s lead to 15 points (59-44) but sophomore Lucy Land’s three-pointer halted the momentum. The Aztecs led by as much as 24 points on a couple of occasions in the final quarter.
Fisher finished the game with a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds. She shot 10-for-12 from the field.
“I was getting great passes from my teammates and finishing those easy ones helped me get going,” Fisher said. “We knew what we had to do. We went in with the mindset that it’s the playoffs and anything can happen. We wanted to come out strong.”
Sophomore Kiley Sours-Miller (Dream City Christian) closed out the game with 11 points after going 5-for-9 from the field. She also had seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Sophomore Melicia Nelson (Window Rock HS) posted six points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.
The Pima bench scored 26 points as Land finished with nine points on 4-for-6 shooting and Coolidge added eight points.
“It was a real close first quarter and my teammates did a really good job finding me,” Coolidge said about her three-pointers in the quarter. “We ran the ball really well and moved the ball really fast. I knocked them down, which was pretty cool.”
The Aztecs shot 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the field and 70.6 percent (12-for-17) from the free throw line.
The Aztecs and the Thunderbirds will lock up for the 14th time in the last 18 years to decide the Region I, Division II Champion. Tip-off is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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