The Pima College women's basketball team captured its first national championship Saturday, rallying past Kirkwood (Iowa) CC 64-58 in the NJCAA Division II title game in Hickory, N.C.
The No. 4-seeded Aztecs (30-4) trailed 30-27 at halftime and then 41-30 midway through the third quarter. But it was all Aztecs after that, as they outscored No. 6 seed Kirkwood 34-17 over the final 14:15 of the game. Pima cut the lead to 45-42 by the end of the third quarter and took a 52-50 lead with 6:28 left on a Melicia Nelson layup.
Kiley Sours-Miller extended the lead to 58-51 with a basket with 2:21 left. After five straight points by the Eagles (30-5), Nelson hit a jump shot with 49 seconds left to make it 60-56.
Reigne Waugh hit a free throw with 20 seconds left to put Pima up 61-56 and hit another one to make it 62-58 with 13 seconds remaining. After a Kirkwood offensive foul, Sours-Miller put the game away with two free throws with 11 seconds on the clock. Nelson grabbed the defensive rebounds off a missed Eagles shot as time expired.
Sours-Miller had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Nelson had 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Aztecs shot just 41.1%, but held the Eagles to 35.2% shooting and won the rebounding battle 43-34.
The Pima College women's basketball team celebrates after its national semifinal win Friday night in Hickory, N.C. Saturday, the Aztecs claimed their first naitonal championship with a 64-58 win over Kirkwood (Iowa) CC.
The Aztecs were 12-4 this season after an 11-point home loss to Mesa CC on Jan. 7, but finished the season with 18 straight wins under coach Todd Holthaus.
They beat Des Moines Area Community College in the first round of the national tournament 71-64 on Tuesday, then defeated Union College (NJ) 88-75 on Thursday.
On Friday, they toppled previously unbeaten and No. 1-seeded Johnson County CC 68-67. The Aztecs lost to Johnson County in the championship game last season. The Cavaliers entered the semifinal game 34-0 and with an overall 38-game winning streak.
Pima trailed 67-62 against the Cavaliers with 2:34 left, but Johnson County wouldn't score again, and Nelson hit the go-ahead layup with 25 seconds left. The Cavaliers' final shot as time expired was blocked by Pima's Kahlia Gonzales.
Pima had also lost in the national championship game in 2011 and finished in third place in 2009 and 2016.
Men's basketball
The Pima men finished the season 35-1 after beating Des Moines Area (Iowa) CC in the fifth-place game 98-81 on Saturday in Danville, Ill.
Isaiah Hill had 24 points, and Isaac Johnson had 20 for the Aztecs, who are 60-0 in the regular season and 70-2 overall the past two years.
The Aztecs fell to the consolation bracket when they suffered their first loss of the year in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Pima was also 35-1 last year, when it finished in third place after losing its national semifinal contest.
