Last second shot falls short as women's basketball fall to Eastern Arizona

The Pima Community College women's basketball team (8-2, 3-1 in ACCAC) had its seven-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday in a tough battle against Eastern Arizona College (4-5, 2-2, Division I).

The No. 1 ranked Aztecs (Division II) forced the overtime but their final shot bounced off the rim as they fell 88-86.

Freshman Izzy Spruit (Mesquite HS) swished a deep three-pointer with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 76-76 and force the extra period. The teams went back-and-forth until the Gila Monsters took the lead giving the Aztecs 8.1 seconds to work with. Sophomore Sydni Stallworth (Palo Verde HS) drove to the basket and kicked it back to fellow sophomore Moana Hala'ufia (Marana HS), who's shot fell short as time expired.

The Aztecs and Gila Monsters played a close first half as Pima trailed 37-36 at the break. The Aztecs went on an 18-10 run in almost seven minutes to take a 54-47 lead. The Aztecs led 59-51 after the third quarter. Pima went up 64-55 early in the fourth but Eastern Arizona went on a 14-4 run to retake the lead at 69-68 with 1:48 left in regulation.

Stallworth converted on a three-point play to give the Aztecs a 73-72 lead but the Gila Monsters came back to reclaim the advantage at 76-73 with 21.3 seconds left.

Stallworth scored a team-high 21 points with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Spruit and sophomore Bree Cates each scored 15 points while sophomore Denesia Smith (Cienega HS) had 14 points and six assists. Sophomore Erin Peterson (Catalina Foothills HS) had six points and 12 rebounds while Hala'ufia contributed with eight points and 11 rebounds.

The Aztecs will play at South Mountain Community College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in their final game before the winter break.

EAC     22     15     14     25     12     88
PCC     18     18     23     17     10     86

Sydni Stallworth/Photo by Stephanie Van Latum