Smith Drops 21 as Aztecs Women's Basketball Beat Arizona Western

The Pima Community College women's basketball team (13-3, 7-1 in ACCAC) won its seven straight game on Wednesday as the Aztecs got back to ACCAC conference play at the West Campus.

The Aztecs defeated Arizona Western College (8-8, 3-5), a Division I team, 74-64. Pima has won nine of their last 10 games.

Up 46-41 in the third quarter, freshman Denesia Smith (Cienega HS) scored seven straight points for the Aztecs which turned into an 18-2 run that carried over into the early minutes of the fourth quarter. They held a 64-43 advantage at that point. Pima outscored Arizona Western 27-14 in the third quarter.

The Aztecs took a 29-15 lead halfway through the second quarter but Arizona Western closed out the half on a 14-5 run. Pima led 34-29 at the break. Arizona Western cut it to 35-33 early in the third quarter but sophomore Taylor Blue (Peoria HS) scored seven straight points to give the Aztecs a 42-33 cushion. Blue was scoreless in the first half.

Smith finished with a team-high 21 points along with three assists and three steals. Sophomore Shalise Fernander (Flowing Wells HS), who was named NJCAA and ACCAC Division II Player of the Week, had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Sydni Stallworth (Palo Verde HS) had 12 points, six steals and four assists. Freshman Erin Peterson contributed with nine points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists while Blue had seven points and nine rebounds.

The Aztecs will face another Division I team on Saturday when they play at Central Arizona College in Coolidge. The game starts at 2:00 p.m.

Denesia Smith/Photo by Ben Carbajal