DOUGLAS — The Cochise College women’s basketball team beat Arizona Western 58-49 Wednesday night in the NJCAA Region I semifinals and will play for the region championship Friday.
“I thought we were just tough,” Cochise head coach Laura Hughes told the Sierra Vista Herald. “We played six people the majority of the game, and it’s just a great bunch of kids who gutted it out.”
Sophomore Ashley Mitchell led the Apaches with 16 points, followed by Justina Prairie Chief and Johnishia Welles with 13 apiece. Jasmine Lemon scored eight.
Cochise and Western had split their regular-season meetings, with Cochise winning Jan. 5 in Yuma and the Matadors taking the game in Douglas just a couple of weeks ago.
“We just had to keep pushing and coming at ’em, and we got to their post players,” Lemon told the Herald. “In the second half, they were struggling in the post, and that’s where their game is, the post.”
Next, the Apaches move on to the NJCAA Region I title game against top-seeded Central Arizona, ranked second in the nation. The game in Coolidge begins at 7:30 p.m. The Vaqueras won both meetings during the regular season.
The last time Cochise played for a region title was back-to-back years in 2005 and 2006, both losses to Central Arizona. If the Apaches win Friday, it will be their first region title since 1985.