The Pima Community College women’s basketball team is heading back to the NJCAA Region I, Division II championship after it claimed its eighth straight win Thursday at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
The No. 2-seeded Aztecs defeated No. 3 Scottsdale 66-59, avenging their loss to the Artichokes in last year’s semifinal round when the Aztecs fell 49-43 at the Aztec Gym.
Pima (25-5) will play at No. 1 seed Mesa (24-7) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Region I, Division II finals.
This will be the first meeting between the programs in the finals since the 2021-22 season and their 13th overall in the last 17 years.
Mesa won two of the three meetings this season.
The Aztecs won the last game at Mesa 66-55 on Feb. 22.
Amphitheater graduate Mattanaya Vital finished with a game-high 18 points as she went 7 for 13 from the field and 4 for 8 from beyond the arc in that win over Mesa. Freshman Kiley Sours-Miller gained her 13th double-double of the season posting 14 points and 12 rebounds. She went 7 for 8 from the field.
In Thursday night’s win over Scottsdale, the Aztecs led 61-59 with 2:55 left after a Scottsdale rally. Sours-Miller re-entered the game with four fouls before she scored on a putback with 1:16 left to give the Aztecs a 63-59 lead.
Sophomore Rori Hoffmeyer collected a defensive rebound off a missed attempt and Sours-Miller scored on a jumper. Pima called timeout up 65-59 with 34.3 seconds left.
The Artichokes missed an inside shot and Hoffmeyer collected another defensive board. She converted on one of two foul shots with 21.0 seconds remaining.
Scottsdale was called for an offensive foul on their next possession when sophomore Amelie Buffill-Gutierrez (Sabino) took the charge to help seal it.
·The Aztecs went on an early 9-0 in the first quarter and led 20-13 entering the second quarter. They maintained their lead and held a 39-31 advantage at the break.
The Artichokes went on a 10-4 run in the closing minutes of the third quarter to tie the game at 49-49 but freshman Kennedi Niemann hit a jumper in the final seconds to put the Aztecs back ahead 51-49 entering the fourth quarter.
The teams were in a defensive struggle with one field goal made each in the first three minutes of the final quarter. Pima held a six-point advantage on a couple of occasions and Scottsdale cut it to a two-point lead but could not tie or overtake the lead.
“We stayed focused on what worked for us,” freshman Lucy Land said in a school press release. “We’re really strong in the post but when they double teamed the post, we had strong shooters on the outside. It was just knowing what works and staying focused. Coach Todd (Holthaus) always tells us to dial in and stay locked in.”
Land contributed with seven points and three rebounds off the bench.
“A lot of people know we have a deep bench so we’re really impactful with energy,” Land said. “We’re constantly doing defensive cheers, speaking to the players on the court, helping them move around screens and communicating what we see and what they might not see.”
Buffill-Gutierrez finished with six points, two rebounds and two steals.
Sours-Miller produced her 15th double-double of the season scoring a game-high 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting to go with 14 rebounds (seven offensive boards).
Hoffmeyer had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Vital went 3 for 4 from 3-point range and finished with nine points while Niemann had eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
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