Cochise Women's Basketball season comes to an end in 2nd round of NJCAA tourney

CASPER, WY. --- The 16th-seeded Cochise Apaches faced the 1-seeded Hutchinson Blue Dragons yesterday afternoon for the rights to advance to the national quarterfinal in the NJCAA Tournament. Cochise and head coach Misty Opat knew what they were up against and were determined to give the undefeated Dragons a run for their money at the Ford Wyoming Center. Cochise opened up to a lead at the end of the 1st quarter, leading Hutchinson 12-10, led by a strong opening performance from sophomore guard Clara Gonzalez who sunk two 3-point shots in the first.

The Apaches continued their strong start as they went into halftime with a 31-27 over the No. 1 team in the country. It was the third quarter where Hutchinson began to fight back, outscoring the Apaches 17-10 and dominating the boards as well as they outrebounded Cochise 7-3 in the third quarter. A back-and-forth fourth quarter ultimately finished with Hutchinson remaining undefeated, as they ran away with the win in the final minutes 59-54. The Blue Dragons advanced, but not without a scare from Cochise who refused to go down without a fight. 

Sophomores Ali Hardwell and Clara Gonzalez led Cochise in their final game scoring 17 and 16 points respectively. Fortuna Ngnawo went only 3 for 12 in the game, scoring 7 points in her final game as an Apache. Another outgoing sophomore, Alexis Reese came off of the bench scoring 8 points and collecting 6 rebounds.

Cochise Women's Basketball finishes their 2023-2024 season with a 26-8 overall record and 18-5 conference record, along with a Region 1 Championship title.