The No. 13 Pima Community College women’s defeated Scottsdale 67-53 on Saturday at the West Aztec Gym, improving to 13-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACCAC.
The Aztecs led from the start against the Artichokes (8-6, 4-2), earning their fourth straight win. This was their first meeting of the programs since the Artichokes upset the Aztecs in last year’s NJCAA Region I, Division II semifinal game.
Pima started the game on a 14-2 run and forced the Artichokes to miss their first nine shots. The Artichokes scored the last five points of the first quarter to cut the lead to 14-7. The Aztecs held a 35-26 lead at halftime.
The Artichokes closed the gap to 41-32 with 5:17 left in the third quarter but sophomore Mattanaya Vital (Amphitheater) provided a spark with back-to-back 3-pointers, forcing Scottsdale to call timeout. She hit her third 3-pointer of the quarter to give Pima a 53-35 advantage.
The Aztecs went on a 14-3 run in the fourth quarter to take their biggest lead of the game at 67-42. Scottsdale scored the final 11 points of the game.
Freshman Kiley Sours-Miller, formerly of Arizona State, posted a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds as she went 7 for 10 from the field. She also had two blocks and one steal.
Vital went 4 for 7 from beyond the arc and also finished with 15 points. Freshman Lucy Land contributed with 15 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Freshman Kennedi Niemann finished the game with nine points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals while freshman Melicia Nelson had seven points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The Aztecs will next play Wednesday at Phoenix College in ACCAC action. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. The Aztecs beat the Bears 74-65 on Nov. 20 at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
Recommended for you
