Women's Basketball sweeps through Aztec Holiday Classic with 3 wins

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Apaches ended 2022 with three dominant wins at the Aztec Classic, hosted by Pima Community College. The Apaches kicked off the tournament with a 96-53 win over Whatcom College. Cochise ended the game with five players in double figures. Freshman Chana Paxixe led the way with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Paxixe really displayed her ability to play inside the paint and on the perimeter; her dominance on the boards and the strength to finish through contact at the rim was a huge asset for the Apaches. Freshman Andjela Bigovic contributed 20 points and 7 rebounds. Bigovic blazed the nets from downtown shooting 6-11 from the three. This was only the beginning of Bigovic's stellar shooting in the tournament as she shot 63% from the three at the end of the event. Freshman Maeva de la Fortuna Ngnawo added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Ngnawo's presence was felt throughout the entire tournament as she finished the tournament averaging a double-double. Sophomore Jess Lawson poured in 16 points and collected 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Overall the Sophomore played some of her best basketball this season during the tournament as she showcased her ability to finish through contact and lockdown opponents defensively. Freshman Clara Gonzalez added 11 points of her own, along with 7 steals. The speedy freshman elevated the Apache's defense and flew around in a way that made it seem like she was everywhere on the court.

The domination continued as the Apaches beat both Howard College and Bismarck State College by over 30 points. Again, Freshman Chana Paxixe,  Maeva de la Fortuna Ngnawo, and Andjela Bigovic all ended with double-digit points in each of the contests. Paxixe scored 14 points in both games, adding 6 rebounds against Howard. Bigovic continued her amazing shooting from downtown, going 3-6 from three against Howard and an unbelievable 6-7 from three against Bismarck State. Ngnawo finished with another double-double against Howard, securing a dominant 18 rebounds and scoring 19 points. There was no question who was the best post player on the floor at the end of the night as Ngnawo outshined the opponent's post with her display of hard work, strength, and passion. Sophomore Deyana Bogan also played well against Howard College, going 5-6 from the floor and ending the game with double-digit scoring. Sophomore Jess Lawson finished the tournament with an impressive performance in the last game against Bismarck State. Lawson ended the game one rebound away from a double-double, grabbing 9 rebounds and finishing with 16 points. The sophomore shot an impressive 86% from the floor.

The Apaches enter the year 2023, 11-2; tying their win total from the entire 2021-2022 season. The team is sitting at #25 in the NJCAA rankings and seeks to secure win 12 at home,  January 4th at 7:30pm against the Roughriders of Yavapai College.