SMCC Women’s Basketball Splits Pair of ACCAC Contests

The South Mountain Community College women's basketball team split a pair of Arizona Community College Athletic Conference contests last week, defeating Glendale Community College, 55-49, before falling to Central Arizona 92-66. Freshman Prima Chellis led SMCC in scoring in both games and posted a season-high 37 points and 16 rebounds against Central Arizona. The Cougars are now 10-11 overall and 8-9 in ACCAC action.

The defense carried the way for the Cougars in the win over GCC on Feb. 5. South Mountain CC limited the Gauchos to 27.4 percent shooting (17 of 62) from the field and 17.4 percent (4 of 23) from 3-point range. The Cougars forced 26 Glendale turnovers and had 15 steals.

Chellis posted a double-double, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds to go with the 20 points. She added six steals and three assists in the win, and now has 11 performances of more than 20 points and four games with more than 30 points on the season.

Sophomore Jallisa Jackson posted 14 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the field and added five rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Hallie Price recorded six points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists in the win.

SMCC shot 19 of 57 (33.3 percent) from the game and led 22-13 at halftime. Freshmen Naibe Barnes and Makala Norman each had 3-pointers for the Cougars.

On Feb. 8, the Cougars suffered a 92-66 loss to Central Arizona. Chellis finished 11 of 22 from the field and 14 of 17 from the free-throw line, matching a season-high in both categories. She recorded a season-high eight offensive rebounds and added three steals in the loss.

Sophomore Arianna Sanders added eight points and two rebounds while sophomore Christina Willis finished with seven points and two rebounds. Jackson came off the bench to grab eight rebounds.

SMCC shot 37.5 percent (21 of 56) from the field and 75 percent (21 of 28) from the free-throw line. The Cougars forced 16 Central Arizona turnovers, but the Vaqueras shot 45.9 percent (34 pf 74) from the field and knocked down 10 3-pointers.

For the season, Chellis averaging a team-high 19.6 points to go with 9.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Sanders is second on the team at 8.2 ppg while Price and (7.8 ppg) and Willis (7.7 ppg) are third and fourth.

SMCC continues ACCAC play this week with a pair of contests. On Feb. 12, the Cougars host Arizona Western College at 5:30 p.m. Three days later, South Mountain Community College hits the road for a 2 p.m. contest at Pima Community College.