Women’s Basketball Heads to Playoffs

The South Mountain Community College women's basketball team will face Pima Community College in the first round of the NJCAA Region I Division II playoffs Wednesday, Mar. 4 at 7 p.m. The Cougars earned the third seed in the tournament and will square off against the second-seeded Aztecs.

The Cougars finished the regular season with a 12-14 overall record and 10-12 mark in Arizona Community College Athletic Conference action.

Sophomore Prima Chellis received Second Team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference and All-Region I Division II First Team honors after a dynamic season. She averaged a team-leading 20.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game during the regular season, topping the conference in scoring.

Sophomores Christina Willis, Halle Price and Arianna Sanders average more than eight points per game.  A fifth sophomore, Jalisa Jackson, checks in at 5.4 points per game.

Willis leads the team in assists and ranks second in steals while Price has a team-high 10 blocked shots. Sanders has a team-high 46 3-pointers, and Jackson checks in at second on the team in rebounds.

Pima enters the contest with a 23-7 overall mark and a 16-6 conference record. The Aztecs took both match-ups between the teams this season, winning 57-42 at SMCC on Jan. 8 and 97-68 at home on Feb. 15.

Pima CC sophomore Hallie Lawson earned ACCAC Division II Player of the Year honors after averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game during the regular season. Teammate Alyssa Perez received Second Team All-ACCAC and First Team All-Region I, Division II honors.

The Cougars registered a significant victory over Tohono O'odham Community College on Feb. 22. SMCC overcame a five-point deficit to start the fourth quarter and completed the comeback with an 89-85 victory.

Willis posted a season-high 22 points, nine field goals and two 3-pointers in the win. She also tied a season-best with five assists and added four steals. Chellis led the Cougars with 30 points, the sixth time she has scored at least 30 in a game this season.

The winner of this game will take on the winner of a contest between top-seeded Mesa CC and fourth-seeded Phoenix College. The finals are on Saturday, Mar. 7 at 7 p.m. on the home court of the highest remaining seed.