AWC - Pima women's basketball preview

Pima C.C. at Arizona Western women

Tipoff: 5:30 p.m. today.

Media: Radio - KBLU 560 AM; Internet - www.azwestern.edu/athletics

Last game: AWC opened conference play on the road with an upset win over Yavapai 68-67 Wednesday. The Aztecs beat Cochise at home on Wednesday 92-59.

Records: AWC (5-2 overall, 1-0 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference); Pima (2-1, 1-0 ACCAC)

Player to watch: Matadors small forward Rayshell Pittman's 10 points in Wednesday's win against Yavapai was her first double-digit scoring effort as a Matador. ... Courtney Payne was one of only two Aztecs to average more than 10 points per game (11.9) last year.

AWC coach Patrick Cunningham's comments: "We need to be more patient in the first half offensively. We try to make a play way too soon and it leads to bad possessions. This is their second year with this coach and the best players in Tucson are staying in Tucson now. He's built a team that will absolutely compete for a (ACCAC) Division II championship."

The lowdown: The Matadors' current win streak (five) is larger than the number of official games the Aztecs have played thus far (three). But while AWC may have the advantage in experience, Pima appears to have the edge in offensive firepower. The Aztecs have already scored 80 points or more twice this season (a feat they accomplished once last year), while the Mats' highest offensive output thus far is 74.  ... Both meetings last year were wins for Arizona Western, the first coming on now-Dixie State forward Tanya Clark's 14-for-14 shooting exhibition. ... The Matadors' program has never lost to the Aztecs but understand that streaks were meant to be broken, having ended an eight-game losing skid to Yavapai this week ... AWC fell out of the NJCAA rankings, released on Wednesday before their game with Yavapai. The Roughriders also dropped from No. 19 to "others receiving votes." ... Pima returns just two players from last year's team that barely cracked the 10-win mark. Both attended Cienega High School in Vail near Tucson and are former teammates of AWC sophomore Paula Clendaniel. Freshman Abyee Maracigan is the team's leading scorer at 14 points per game.