Citizen Staff Writer
PIMA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KEN BRAZZLE
kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com
How long has it been since the Pima Community College women’s basketball team was in the postseason?
Try 15 years.
That streak comes to an end Tuesday when Pima hosts Scottsdale Community College in a National Junior College Athletic Association Region I playoff game.
This has been a Cinderella season for Pima. The Aztecs weren’t expected to make the playoffs because they had a freshman-dominated squad. Pima had three sophomores at the start of the season.
But with four freshman starting, the Aztecs went 24-5 in the regular season.
“We exceeded a lot of expectations to this point,” said Pima second-year coach Todd Holthaus. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was to make it to the playoffs. I guess in that sense we are right where we wanted to be.
“We’ve done some things along the way a lot better than I thought it would be as far as the kids individually and our record.”
Holthaus sensed he had something special in December. “We got three wins in our tournament and we started building a winning streak,” Holthaus said. “That was when the light bulb came on. We went back to conference and got a few more wins. They started to develop confidence.”
Pima swept the series from Scottsdale this season, winning 63-50 and 96-58.
The Aztecs have two players averaging in double figures in Tia Morrison and Abyee Maracigan. Morrison averaged 16.3 points and Maracigan is at 14.0. The duo also finished among the top 10 rebounders in the region. Morrison averages 8.2 per game while Maracigan averages 8.0.
Both players were first-team all Arizona Community College Athletic Conference picks
“It’s not just them two,” Holthaus said. “Different nights, different people have stepped up.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Scottsdale (13-16)
at Pima (24-5)
What: NJCAA Region 1 semifinals
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: PCC West Campus