by The Pima Community College women’s basketball team (20-6, 13-5 in ACCAC) picked up its 20th win of the season on Wednesday in its road win at Arizona Western College (18-7, 11-7).
- The No. 15 ranked Aztecs (Division II) defeated the Matadors 74-64 snapping their five-game winning streak. The Aztecs have won 20 or more games in seven of the last eight years. The exception was the 2020-21 pandemic season.
- Up 13-11 in the first quarter, the Aztecs closed out the final 6:04 with a 15-0 run to take a 28-11 lead. The Aztecs went 11 for 18 from the field and 5 for 8 from three-point range. The Aztecs took their biggest lead of the game in the 2nd quarter when sophomore Angel Addleman (Palo Verde HS) scored to make it 38-17. The Aztecs led 40-23 at halftime.
- Up 55-35 with 3:17 left in the third quarter, the Matadors scored the final six points to gain some momentum as Pima led 57-41. The momentum carried into the fourth as Arizona Western went on a 18-6 run in the first six and a half minutes and cut Pima’s lead to four points at 63-59 with 4:29 left on the clock. The Aztecs got four free throws from sophomore Torrance Begay (Page HS) and a basket by Addlerman to give Pima some breathing room at 69-60 at the 2:21 mark.
- Freshman Rayn Holton (Casteel HS) grabbed a crucial defensive rebound and was fouled. She drained two free throws to give Pima a double-digit lead once again at 71-60 with 2:05 remaining. The Matadors cut it to seven points at 71-64 but the Aztecs hit three final free throws to seal it.
- Begay finished with a game-high 24 points as she went 7 for 11 from the field and 4 for 5 from three-point range. She also went 6 for 8 from the free throw stripe. Begay scored seven points as part of the first quarter run and six points in the fourth quarter to help preserve Pima’s lead.
- Sophomore Matehya Aberle (Holbrook HS) fell short of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds while fellow sophomore Luisa Chavez (Rio Rico HS) flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
- Addleman and sophomore Aiona Johnson each posted nine points.
