The Pima Community College women’s basketball team is on top of the world as it captured its first NJCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday in Hickory, NC.
The No. 4 seeded Aztecs defeated No. 6 Kirkwood Community College (IA) 64-58.
The Aztecs trailed 50-47 with 7:47 left in the game but sophomore Kiley Sours-Miller (Dream City Christian) and Melicia Nelson (Window Rock HS) sparked a rally that turned into an 11-1 run in the next five minutes as Pima grabbed a 58-51 advantage with 2:21 left. It was Pima’s biggest lead of the game.
The Eagles (30-5) cut it to 58-56 with a pair of free throws with 1:10 left but Nelson halted the rally with her jumper to put the Aztecs back up by four points with 49 seconds remaining.
Freshman Lucy Fisher (Mesquite HS) collected a defensive rebound on the other end and freshman Reigne Waugh was fouled with 20 seconds left. She made the first one to make it 61-56. The Eagles scored on the next trip down the floor and fouled Waugh again, but it was called a flagrant foul. Waugh converted on her second foul shot to make it 62-58 with 13 seconds left as the Aztecs maintained possession.
Sours-Miller was fouled and she drained both foul shots with 11 seconds on the clock. Kirkwood missed a final shot attempt, and Nelson collected the rebound as time expired and history was made. The Aztecs outscored the Eagles 22-13 in the final quarter.
The Aztecs took a 4-0 lead but fell behind 8-6 and trailed up until their lead in the fourth quarter. The Eagles held their biggest lead at 25-13 early in the second quarter.
Sours-Miller closed out the game with her 15th double-double of the season posting a game-high 27 points to go with 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal. She was 10-for-19 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Sours-Miller was named to the NJCAA Division II All-Tournament team.
“I stayed for another year, and I think I stayed for a purpose because look where we’re at now,” Sours-Miller said. “We were down most of the game, but we went to the huddle and Coach Todd (Holthaus) said, ‘five more minutes left, give your best basketball.’ For the sophomores, we took that personal, and we didn’t want to lose again (in the National Championship game). We dug in and took the lead. “To be able to say that we won Nationals and going there in back-to-back years, it’s a proud honor and I wouldn’t be here without any of the coaches and the support. I appreciate everything that Pima has done for me. I don’t know if I will ever go to another school and find a coaching staff that I have here. Coach Todd is a once in a lifetime blessing as a coach. If Pima was a four-year school, I would have stayed here without a doubt. I’m proud to leave my Pima legacy on the court as a National Champion.”
Nelson scored 20 points with 11 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block as she was named the NJCAA Division II Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Waugh scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds as she was 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Waugh was also selected to the All-Tournament Team.
Sophomore Cassie Coolidge (Sahuaro HS) had four points while Fisher added two points and six rebounds. Sophomore Lucy Land added two points and three rebounds.
Freshman Kahlia Gonzales (Mesquite HS) produced the final block in Pima’s semifinal win over No. 1 Johnson County Community College.
“It feels unreal right now. I’m so proud of my whole team. We just kept pushing and fighting. One thing about our team is we’re not going to stop fighting,” Gonzales said. “My defense is the No. 1 thing I want to bring to the team, I want to bring the energy and I want to start off the game with pressure on the defense and make everyone else hype.”
Coach Todd Holthaus won his 400th career game in the second game of the season and captured his first NJCAA National Championship in his 19th season at the helm. It was also the first time that the Aztecs secured a 30-win season.
“They just never quit. There were a few times it was looking bleak, but they just rallied around each other and pushed through. We’ve always told them that basketball is a game of runs. We just wanted to make sure we made ours at the right time so that when the scoreboard goes off, we’re at least ahead by one point,” Holthaus said. “There were a series of moments, couple key stops and a couple key rebounds. They were beating us on the boards up until the last eight minutes and we started taking care of the glass and that’s been our strength all year.”
This was Coach Holthaus’ third trip to the NJCAA Division II National Title game (2011, 2025) and he wanted to make it a point to shout out the teams he has coached in the past.
“That’s the coolest part. It gives me a moment to pause and all those teams when I first started coaching, just them laying the foundation of what happened today,” Holthaus said. “This team won, but I think we all won. I can’t wait to hear from alumni, and I can’t wait to call and facetime them because I know they were at home watching today. That makes me so happy and so proud that it means so much to them.”
The Aztecs closed out the season on an 18-game winning streak and hadn’t lost since their first meeting with Mesa Community College on Jan. 7. The Aztecs went 15-1 at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium and 9-2 on the road.
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