by The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (11-2) won its fifth straight game on Saturday as it closed out play in the Bruce Fleck Classic.
The No. 4 ranked Aztecs found themselves in a battle but came away with a hard fought victory over No. 23 Snow College (Division I) 75-68. The Aztecs beat the Badgers (13-4) twice this season as they won 72-66 at the Willow Creek Inn Invitational in Ephraim, UT on Dec. 1.
The Aztecs went 3-0 at the Bruce Fleck Classic. They defeated Harcum College 81-60 on Thursday and beat Bismarck State College 89-70 on Friday.
The Aztecs opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to make it 46-30. Pima led 56-40 at the end of the quarter. The Badgers rallied in the fourth quarter with a 15-2 run to cut Pima’s lead to three points at 68-65.
Snow cut Pima’s lead to four points on two more occasions. Up 72-68, sophomore Christine Ortega (Flowing Wells HS) made a basket in the paint and grabbed the ensuing defensive rebound to help seal it.
The Aztecs took a 24-9 lead after the first quarter but the Badgers started the second quarter on a 16-1 run to tie it at 25-25. Sophomore Alliyah Bryant(Mesquite HS) broke the shooting slump for the Aztecs when she drained a three-pointer at the 1:37 mark. She hit a second 3-pointer on the next possession to make it 31-25. Freshman RyLeigh Long hit a three-pointer at the end of the half as the Aztecs led 36-30 at halftime.
Freshman Jacqulynn Nakai (Navajo) scored a team-high 19 points to go along with six assists and three steals. Bryant scored 13 of her 14 points in the first half. She went 4 for 5 from the field and 3 for 4 from three-point range. Ortega posted 13 points and six rebounds while sophomore Aubre Fortner had 12 points and six rebounds.
Nakai averaged 17.3 points and 6.7 assists during the Bruce Fleck Classic. Fortner averaged 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds.
The Aztecs return to ACCAC conference play on Wednesday when they play at Scottsdale Community College at 5:30 p.m.
