No. 6 Pima Community College has reached the NJCAA Division II semifinals for the fourth time in program history, all under 18-year coach Todd Holthaus, with Wednesday’s 82-56 victory over No. 3 Springfield (Ill.) Lincoln Land at Joplin, Mo.
The Aztecs (28-5) will play either No. 7 Mattoon (Ill.) Lake Land (27-7) or No. 2 Baltimore CCBC Essex (31-1) in the semifinal round Friday at 6 p.m., Tucson time. Lake Land and CCBC Essex will play in a quarterfinal game Thursday at 5 p.m.
Pima enters Friday’s game on an 11-game winning streak that has the Aztecs in the national semifinals for the first time since 2016, when they finished in third place.
The other times the Aztecs have reached at least the semifinal round was in 2011 finishing runner-up and in 2009 with a third-place finish.
Pima’s rout of Lincoln Land (32-3) snapped the Loggers’ 13-game winning streak.
The Aztecs never trailed after building a 12-3 lead four minutes into the game.
Pima outrebounded Lincoln Land 55-29 and outscored the Loggers 40-20 in the paint.
The Aztecs also recorded 19 assists on their 32 made field goals.
Kiley Sours-Miller, the ACCAC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year, finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds.
Rori Hoffmeyer had 19 points and nine rebounds and Kennedi Niemann finished with 17 points and four rebounds.
Sours-Miller, Hoffmeyer and Niemann combined to make 22 of 38 shots (57.9 percent) from the field.
Melicia Nelson finished with seven assists and Amphitheater graduate Mattanaya Vital finished with four.
Pima led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter before taking a 21-14 lead into the second quarter.
The Aztecs outscored Lincoln Land 15-0 at the start of the second quarter to pull away to a 36-14 lead with 4:26 left before halftime.
That game-clinching run including Lincoln Land going 0 of 5 from the field with five turnovers.
The Loggers went more than seven minutes without scoring in the second quarter.
Hoffmeyer had six points and Niemann five in the 15-0 run that helped the Aztecs take a 42-21 lead at halftime.
Sours-Miller helped Pima strengthen its lead in the second half producing 20 points and 11 rebounds in the half.
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