The Pima College women’s basketball team fell just short in its quest to win the first national championship in program history, losing 75-67 to Johnson County (Kan.) CC in the NJCAA Division II title game in Joplin, Mo., on Saturday night.
The No. 6 seed Aztecs (29-6) and No. 4 seed Cavaliers (34-1) were in a tight game for much of the contest, although Johnson County finally started to get some breathing room in the final minutes. Pima cut a nine-point lead to 67-63 with just over two minutes left but was outscored 8-4 the rest of the way.
The game featured 11 ties and 16 lead changes. Pima led 20-19 after the first quarter and trailed 36-33 at halftime. It cut the margin to 55-53 after three quarters but was outscored 20-14 over the final 10 minutes.
Amelie Buffill-Gutierrez led the Aztecs with 18 points, and Rori Hoffmeyer added 12. Pima’s Melicia Nelson had game-highs with 14 rebounds and five assists.
The Pima College women’s basketball team finishes No. 2 in the country after losing by eight in the national title game.
The Aztecs had rallied to win 115-112 in the semifinal round the day before in a game where they trailed by eight with just over a minute left in regulation.
“It was very competitive, but we didn’t play our ‘A’ game because of (Friday’s semifinal) game,” said Pima women’s basketball coach Todd Holthaus in a news release. “It took us a half to get our legs under us. (Johnson County) did a good job on our guards and their 3-point shooting was the difference. They were built to match with us. During the tournament, we were able to use our quickness, but they matched it.”
The Aztecs won the rebounding battle (41-34) but were outscored by 21 points from long range as they hit just 2 of 6 3-pointers to the Cavaliers’ 9 of 28.
Pima also finished No. 2 in 2011 when it lost in the national championship game.
Pima men’s basketball
The Aztecs men’s team won the third-place game Saturday at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Danville, Ill., to finish with a 35-1 record.
Pima topped Kalamazoo County (Mich.) CC 103-88, a day after the Aztecs suffered their first loss of the season in the semifinals.
Kota Benson added 22 points Saturday for Pima, and Cohenj Gonzales added 20 for the top-seeded Aztecs.
“It feels awesome (to get the win),” said head coach Brian Peabody in a news release. “I told the guys they really deserve to go out on a win and get the ‘W’ tonight after the season they had. Setting records all over the place with 35 wins, and 34 consecutive wins. For them to regroup and come back after a tough loss (Friday), that just shows the resilience and maturity that these guys have.”
