Apaches roll to fifth straight win behind Hardwell's 21-point game

DOUGLAS, Ariz. --- The Cochise Women's Basketball team has seemed to catch their groove as they handily defeated the visiting #14 (DII) Pima Community College Aztecs Saturday afternoon for their fifth straight win. The Apaches were coming off of a road win to open the 2024 portion of their schedule at South Mountain last week, and swept through the Pima Aztec Holiday Classic the week before. 

Cochise jumped out to an early lead over the Aztecs finishing the first quarter up 17-12 and headed into halftime with a 32-24 lead. The Apaches led by as much as 20 in the fourth quarter over Pima, but allowed the Aztecs to creep back in the game in the final five minutes. Ultimately, the game ended in a 65-55 Cochise win with the Apaches winning their fifth game in a row, and their sixth win in their last eight games.

Sophomore Ali Hardwell led all scorers having a career game scoring 21 points with two rebounds and three steals. The sophomore was 8 for 10 from the field and showed no signs of slowing down, as Pima struggled to find an answer in defending her quick style of play. Fortuna Ngnawo collected a double-double during the game, scoring 12 points with 15 rebounds. Freshman standout Micayla Silas came off of the bench scoring 12 points with two assists and four steals.

During the post-game interview with Coolfmonline, head coach Misty Opat mentioned the different mindset her team came back from Christmas break with. "[We] struggled during the first semester finding consistency" Opat stated regarding the team's lopsided scheduling to start off the season. "I think [they]'re figuring it out, and hopefully this win will build some momentum."

Up Next..

Cochise Women's Basketball (9-5,4-3) will attempt to continue their streak when they host Central Arizona College (5-8,3-3) on Friday, January 12th at 5:30 pm and again on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm at Stronghold Gymnasium.