Lady T-Birds region champs
Aaron Webster
The ACCAC Woman’s Region Championship between Mesa Community College and Pima Community College played out like a game shown on ESPN Classic.
Every fan got their money’s worth as both teams were equally matched and splitting the two games they played earlier in the season, this year’s region championship lived up to its hype.
The lady T-Birds once again started the game with aggressive defense, forcing turnovers that led to early points. MVP of the ACCAC, Allie Gloyd, led the charge for the Thunderbirds with 18 first-half points.
Mesa used a 9-2 run to jump ahead 20-9 but Pima would not go away, slowly inching their way back, bringing the score to 20-18 with about 10 minutes.
“We didn’t have any doubt,” said sophomore guard Haley Vennard about the comeback Pima produced in the first half “we just continued to fight.”
Just as Pima was gaining any type of momentum, shooting guards Kalasia Green and Kourtni Thomas knocked down back-to-back three’s in a 40 second span to put Mesa farther ahead 28-18.
Pima dug themselves into a hole by putting the T-Birds in the bonus with eight minutes still in the half. Mesa could not capitalize though, shooting 6 of 13 from the free throw line. “There is no excuse,” Vennard said about the free throw shooting “no excuse.”
Mesa out rebounded Pima 28 to 20 and went into halftime with a 40-31 lead.
The second half started out rough for Mesa, rimming out easy baskets on their first two possessions while on the other end, Pima knocked down their first two baskets.
Pima controlled most of the second half, especially cashing in on the mental mistakes by the Lady T-Birds.
Mesa went into a funk, turning the ball over, and missing free throws. The Lady T-Birds shot a stomach-wrenching 7 for 17 (42 percent) at the line in the second half, 13 for 30 (43 percent) for the game.
“We didn’t panic,” Gloyd said. “There was a lot of adversity but we just kept fighting,” Mesa coach Kori Stephenson added.
Pima continued to rally, bringing the score to 52-51.
T-Birds guard Jenah Locke lit up the crowd with a beautiful three pointer from the left side of the arch to put Mesa back up 55-51. But Pima continue to work their way back, eventually taking the lead 58-57 with less than five minutes left.
The tension in Theo Heap Gymnasium was about as tight as a guitar string.
A region championship and a trip to Peoria, Illinois to play for a national championship was within reach for the team who did not make the last mistake.
With less than two minutes to play, the Aztecs turned the ball over, leading to a well executed fast break that ended in a lay-up.
Getting the ball back, Mesa again executed their offense, ending with Vennard driving and dishing under the hoop to a wide-open Jade Wilson for the easy lay in, putting the T-Birds up 65-61, slamming the nail in the coffin and sealing up the region championship and a trip to Peoria, Illinois to play for a national title.
