Cochise Women's Basketball splits conference homestand with Eastern Arizona

DOUGLAS, Ariz. --- Cochise Women's Basketball hosted #12 Eastern Arizona College for their first-ever back-to-back conference matchups in their history. The new scheduling format came at the decision of the ACCAC conference last year to help balance the amount of Division I and Division II opponents each team faces. This means each Division I team will host back-to-back days for their Division I opponents for a total of four matchups throughout the season. Eastern Arizona College was Cochise's first opponent under this new format, as the Apaches split the homestand with the Gila Monsters, giving EAC their first loss of the young season. 

Friday, December 8th: Cochise 41, Eastern Arizona 45

On Friday evening, Cochise and Eastern Arizona kept things close as the Gila Monsters went into halftime leading Cochise 22-18. It was a fast-paced and physical affair as both teams were in foul trouble early. EAC took a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, however, when sophomores Fortuna Ngnawo and Alexis Reese fouled out of the game, the Gila Monsters pulled away and took the lead for good. Sophomore Clara Gonzalez was the leading scorer for Cochise going 5 for 20 from the field scoring 12 points with 5 rebounds and one assist. Sophomore Ali Hardwell followed with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. 

Saturday, December 9th: Cochise 56, Eastern Arizona 50

One of the advantages of the new scheduling format is the opportunity it gives teams to quickly turn around and "bounce back" after a loss. For Cochise, this was the case as they pulled away with a 56-50 upset win over #12 Eastern Arizona on Saturday afternoon. Ngnawo was far and away the player of the game scoring 25 points with 13 rebounds and two steals. The double-double was earned by Ngnawo despite being sidelined for a few minutes after a close call on the court colliding with Gonzalez on an inbound play. Gonzalez, suffering an injury scare of her own, scored 14 points and collected 2 rebounds and 3 steals. The Apaches hope this huge win gives them enough momentum as they head to Yuma for another tough back-to-back conference matchup.

Up Next..

Cochise Women's Basketball (4-3,2-1) is on the road and will face Arizona Western College (8-3,4-0). Both games have a scheduled tipoff of 5:30 pm.