Matador women bounced at Cochise
One big run for the Cochise women's basketball team ended a multiyear run for Arizona Western.
The No. 2 Apaches ended the game scoring 16 of the last 22 points in a 58-49 win against the No. 3 Matadors Wednesday in Douglas in the NJCAA Region I Division I Semifinal.
AWC (22-9) had made the region finals the last four seasons, a streak that ended Wednesday. The game was close early, with a total of 16 lead changes. But the Lady Apaches closed the game on a 16-6 run to advance to the region final Friday against Central Arizona.
The Matadors trailed 25-24 at halftime.
“We're on the road, it's a one-point game, and they're on pace for 50,” AWC coach Patrick Cunningham said about how his team was feeling at halftime. “Defensively we were doing well, forcing them to turn the ball over. We talked about second chances and getting offensive rebounds. If you want to win a playoff game, you have to posses the ball. And that just didn't happen. When you settle for perimeter shots, you don't have much of a chance at a rebound. We talked about it the entire year, and then we go out there tonight and settle for perimeter shots way to early in the offense.”
Samantha Wallace, who was hurt in the season finale at Mesa, re-aggravated her ankle and missed the last 3:22 of the first half. She came back and played most of the second half, finishing with a team-high 16 points for AWC on 8 of 11 shooting — missing just three 3-pointers. Lisette Longomo and Nikki Villescaz combined for 21 points off the bench, with Longomo scoring 11 in her last game after two seasons with the Matadors. No other AWC player had more than four points.
