Smith's 19 points, 7 steals push Aztecs women's basketball passed Glendale CC

The Pima Community College women's basketball team (8-1, 3-0 in ACCAC) held a lead throughout its game on Saturday against Glendale Community College (4-5, 1-2) but couldn't put them away for good until the fourth quarter.

The No. 1 ranked Aztecs won their seventh straight game after defeating the Gauchos 71-54.

Sophomore Denesia Smith (Cienega HS) converted on a three-point play to put the Aztecs up 50-36 late in the third quarter but the Gauchos responded with an 11-3 run that went into the early minutes of the fourth quarter. The Aztecs led 53-47 with 7:18 left in the game.

Smith, sophomore Sydni Stallworth (Palo Verde HS) and freshman Alliyah Bryant (Mesquite HS) helped orchestrate a 21-4 run to finish the game. During that stretch, Stallworth had seven points, Smith scored six and Bryant had five points. Freshman Izzy Spruit (Mesquite HS) hit the game's final three-pointer with under a minute left.

Smith finished the game with 19 points, seven steals and three assists. Stallworth and fellow sophomore Bree Cates each had 14 points while sophomore Moana Hala-ufia (Marana HS) contributed with 10 points. The Aztecs finished the game with 21 steals.

The Aztecs will be back at the West Campus on Wednesday when they host Eastern Arizona College at 5:30 p.m.

GCC     10     14     16     11     51
PCC      19     14     17     24     74

Denesia Smith/Photo by Stephanie Van Latum