Things got heated in Joplin, Mo., on Monday night, with three technical fouls and fans ejected from both sides late in the game before Pima Community College emerged victorious.
The No. 6 Aztecs’ 74-65 win over No. 11 North Central Missouri College places them in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division II national tournament Wednesday at 6 p.m., Tucson time.
Todd Holthaus’ team (27-5) is on a 10-game winning streak heading into that game, which will be against either No. 19 Phenix City (Ala.) Chattahoochee Valley (22-6) or No. 3 Springfield (Ill.) Lincoln Land (31-2).
Chattahoochee Valley and Lincoln Land play each other at 1 p.m., Tucson time, Tuesday in a first-round game. Chattahoochee Valley defeated No. 14 Hampton (Va.) Bryant & Stratton 67-48 in the play-in round Monday.
Monday’s game involving Pima included Aztec standout freshman post player Kiley Sours-Miller and NCMC counterpart Tailer Morris each fouling out on a double-technical foul call after they became tangled with 38 seconds left and Pima leading 72-64.
Fans from each school were ejected from the arena after that call.
This episode followed a technical foul on NCMC guard Honor Mannings, when she fouled out with 2:24 remaining.
Pima converted all four free throws following the technical foul — two by Lucy Land on the foul call and the last two by Kennedi Niemann resulting from the technical foul.
The free throws pushed Pima’s lead from 68-62 to 72-62 and they capped a 9-0 run for the Aztecs.
Gladys Brown made a layup with 2:08 left to cut the lead to 72-64 but that was as close as NCMC (23-8) would get as the game drew to a close.
Pima weathered foul trouble and turnovers before pulling away in the fourth quarter, outscoring NCMC 21-15 in the period.
Sours-Miller, the ACCAC Player of Year and Freshman of the Year, did not play the entire second quarter after drawing two fouls. She was called for her third foul a minute into the third quarter. Her fourth foul occurred with 7:06 left and Pima clinging a 57-56 lead.
Sours-Miller, who was part of Arizona State’s program last season, played only 14 minutes because of the foul trouble but still managed 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
Rori Hoffmeyer, who also fouled out in the fourth quarter, finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Niemann had eight of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. She also had three assists and two steals in the game.
“Mentally I knew I had to step up after the first half, and that three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, to see the ball go through was beneficial for me,” Niemann said in a Pima press release. “It was a tight game all the way through. I felt confident in my free throws, and in tight moments, it was big.”
Kayanna Cranmer made two free throws after Hoffmeyer’s fifth foul with 4:52 left, cutting Pima’s lead to 63-62.
That’s when Pima went on its game-clinching 9-0 run.
Pima persevered through 24 personal fouls and 17 turnovers, 11 that occurred in the first half.
NCMC had 18 turnovers that resulted in 21 points for the Aztecs.
Pima shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half with Sours-Miller, Niemann, Melicia Nelson and Amphi graduate Mattanaya Vital each making three shots in the half. They combined to make 12 of 21 shots from the field after halftime.
Nelson, who had two fouls in the first quarter, finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
“Meish (Nelson) is a great player, she’s smart offensive and defensively and it was an energy builder with her 3-point play (to put Pima up 46-40 in the third quarter). We played off of that,” Niemann said.
Vital led the Aztecs with four assists and finished with nine points.
Sours-Miller’s backups Land (six points and four rebounds) and Annalise Holthaus (six rebounds) played well in her absence when she sat because of foul trouble.
“Lucy was big in the second half, she got big rebounds and made plays,” Niemann said. “It’s what we needed from our bench players. She did what she’s supposed to do and I’m proud of her.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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