(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (6-3, 3-2 in ACCAC) dominated to open the second half but had to fight every inch to maintain a lead in the end on Monday against Arizona Western College (5-7, 1-4).
The No. 11 ranked Aztecs (Division II) defeated the Matadors (Division I) 72-67.
The Matadors hit a pair of free throws to cut the Pima lead to 70-67. Sophomore Hallie Lawson (Campo Verde HS) missed two foul shots and Arizona Western called timeout with 6.4 seconds left. Sophomore Alyssa Perez (Marana HS) stole the inbounds pass and was fouled. She drained her free throws to put the game away.
The Aztecs trailed 30-28 at halftime but opened the third quarter on a 16-5 run in almost seven minutes to take a 44-35 lead. The Aztecs outscored the Matadors 29-11 in the quarter to take a 57-41 advantage. The Aztecs were outscored 26-15 in the final period.
Perez finished with 12 points, five steals and four assists. Lawson also had 12 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
Freshman Sierra Mich’l went 5 for 7 from the field and posted 10 points. Sophomore Haile Gleason also had 10 points as she went 4 for 7 from the floor. Sophomore Marlena Arroyo-Plata (Campo Verde HS) fell short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Aztecs will be right back on the Aztec Gymnasium floor on Wednesday when they host Tohono O’odham Community College in an ACCAC conference game. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
AWC 12 18 11 26 67
PCC 17 11 29 15 72
