Cochise sweeps #9 Eastern Arizona on the road to continue winning streak

THATCHER, Ariz. -- Cochise Women's Basketball extended their winning streak to 12 in a row this weekend as they went on the road and visited No. 9 Eastern Arizona who had only suffered one loss this season, which was also to Cochise back in November. The Apaches visited the Gila Monsters riding a season-high 10-game win streak led by Sophomore All-American Fortuna Ngnawo, who was awarded yet another Conference Player of the Week honor after the weekend performance.

Friday, February 2nd: Cochise 62, Eastern Arizona 57

In Game 1, Cochise trailed the Gila Monsters at halftime but came out with a "chip" on their shoulder led by Sophomore Alexis Reese, who came off of the bench to score 7 points in the 3rd quarter to keep the Apaches within striking distance of Eastern heading into the fourth. In the fourth quarter, Freshman standout Leamsi Acuna went 3 for 3 from beyond the arc to score 9 points as Cochise pulled away late to defeat EAC for their first loss in over a month. Ngnawo led all scorers for Cochise with 15 points along with 12 rebounds and one steal. Sophomore Ali Hardwell followed with 9 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds.

Saturday, February 3rd: Cochise 58, Eastern Arizona 56

In a Game 2 Saturday afternoon rematch, Ngnawo scored all but two of her team's points in the 1st quarter, as the Apaches led the Gila Monsters 12-9 heading into the 2nd quarter. Cochise led Eastern Arizona at the halfway mark 24-20 behind another dominating 2nd quarter performance from the All-American. A back-and-forth second half ended with the Apaches coming out on top for their 12th win in a row, stunning an Eastern Arizona crowd for only their third loss of the season, all three coming from Cochise. Ngnawo led all scorers for a second day in a row with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and an assist. Sophomores Hardwell and Clara Gonzalez followed with 8 points.

Up Next..

The now #22-ranked Cochise Women's Basketball team (16-5,11-3), who are riding a 12-game winning streak, will be back on their home court hosting Arizona Western College (18-5,14-2) on Friday, February 9th at 5:30 pm, and again on Saturday, February 10th at 2:00 pm.