Mesa women hold off Arizona Western on the road, 43-41
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mesa Community College (14-6, 10-4) | 17 | 26 | 43 |
|
Arizona Western College (15-7, 8-6) | 15 | 26 | 41 |
Arizona Western College
| Game Statistics | Mesa Community College | Arizona Western College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (14-46) | (17-55) |
| Field Goal % | 30.4% | 30.9% |
| Rebounds | 34 | 34 |
| Assists | 7 | 8 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 13 |
YUMA, AZ - In a tight, low-scoring, contest, the 11th-ranked Mesa women scored an important ACCAC victory by holding off Division I Arizona Western, 43-41, Wednesday.
The win enables Mesa (15-6, 10-4) to remain alone in first place in Division II and avenged an early-season loss to the Matadors (15-7, 8-6), 62-50.
Mesa held a slim, 17-15, lead at the half and wound up limiting an opponent to less than 50 points for the tenth time this season.
The T-Birds never trailed in the second half, building as much as a nine-point margin, 31-22, when Megan Gillespie (So., Phoenix, AZ/Arcadia H.S.) hit a jumper at the 12:14 mark.
But MCC had to hold off the Matadors who immediately went on a 10-2 run capped by a free throw by Annamarie Assena with 8:58 to play.
A pair of free throws by Lacey Viselli (So., Surprise, AZ/Valley Vista H.S.) with 3:18 remaining put MCC up, 42-37, but the Thunderbirds would score just one more point the rest of the way.
Eriac Vasquez (So., Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain H.S.) made one of two free throws with 6.3 seconds to increase Mesa's margin to 43-40. AWC added one free throw by Chantal Thoams after a foul on a missed shot. The second rolled to the corner as time ran out.
Gillespie was MCC's only double-figure scorer with 13 points. Brianna Clah (Fr., Chinle, AZ/Many Farms H.S.) added eight.
Kylie Herd (So., Phoenix, AZ/Arcadia H.S.) led both teams with nine rebounds and had two blocked shots and two steals.
Stepahnie Schmid led Western with 14 points
Mesa returns home Saturday to meet Phoenix at 2:00 p.m. at Theo Heap Gym.