(Hickory, NC) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (27-4) used a strong third quarter to pull away in its game against Des Moines Area Community College (26-9) to open the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The No. 4 seeded Aztecs held off the No. 13 Bears 71-64 on Tuesday in the second-round matchup. It was Pima’s 15th straight win as they advanced to play on Thursday in the National Quarterfinal round.
The Aztecs fell behind in the early minutes trailing 9-4 but used a 10-4 run to close out the first quarter to take a 14-13 lead.
Up 16-15, the Aztecs took their first double digit lead after an 11-2 run put the score at 27-17. The Bears countered with a 9-2 run of their own as the Aztecs led 29-26. Pima clinged to a 32-28 lead at halftime.
Sophomore Kiley Sours-Miller (Dream City Christian) scored the first nine points of the third quarter as her last basket during that stretch put Pima up 41-32. The Bears hit a three-pointer to make it 47-39 but the Aztecs closed out the third quarter, scoring nine of the final 12 points to go up 56-42.
The Aztecs took their biggest lead of the game at 15 points after freshman Reigne Waugh’s basket made it 59-44 with 8:58 left in the game. Sours-Miller put Pima ahead again by that margin at 61-46 with 7:29 left.
The Bears cut Pima’s lead to single digits, but the Aztecs continued to counter to take the double digit advantage back down the stretch.
Sours-Miller led the way with a game-high 26 points on 12-for-19 shooting along with nine rebounds and one block.
Sophomore Melicia Nelson (Window Rock HS) fell short of a triple-double as she had 11 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
“I just wanted to be that leader today. We came out with a little jitters, but talking with the team and staying with the game plan and putting confidence in them,” Nelson said. “We were getting stops on defense; once we got stops and got rebounds, we were able to push the tempo on them, keep them on their heels and attack the lane.”
Waugh also scored in double figures as she posted 10 points to go with three rebounds. She was 1-for-1 in three-pointers and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
“It didn’t disappoint,” Waugh said about her first game in the NJCAA Tournament. “That team (Des Moines Area CC) was good and they’re here for a reason. They definitely gave us the first punch, but we came back and responded well. We pushed the gas on them and that’s where our conditioning came into play.”
Sophomore Lucy Land contributed with eight points and three rebounds off the bench as she went 3-for-5 from the field.
Freshman Lucy Fisher (Mesquite HS) had five points and nine rebounds. Freshman Kahlia Gonzales (Mesquite HS) didn’t score any points but had six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Aztecs stopped Des Moines Area’s five-game winning streak. Pima also out-rebounded the Bears 50-39 for the game and won the offensive rebounding battle 13-7.
The Aztecs will play No. 12 seed Union College of Union County (NJ) on Thursday in the Elite Eight. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. (EST); 11:00 a.m. (Tucson time).
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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