Matadors women’s basketball advances to ACCAC finale

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Matadors have proven to be a powerhouse this year and their season series against the Central Arizona Vaqueras is no exception.

On Saturday night, AWC defeated the Vaqueras for the fourth time this year. This time, a 77-44 victory earned Arizona Western a trip to the ACCAC finals.

The Matadors were in control from start to finish. A 10-0 run to start the game was a dead giveaway as to how this one was going to play out.

Finally scoring a basket, Central Arizona seemed to get its head in the game and work their way to a 19-12 deficit at the end of the first quarter.

Halfway through the second quarter, Arizona Western established their dominance over the Vaqueras once again. This time, it came in the form of back-to-back three-pointers from Kimora Jenkins. She finished with four makes from behind the arc and 15 points altogether.

Joining Jenkins in the three-point barrage was Chen Pan, who also made four field goals from deep range throughout the game

But the lead scorer for the Matadors was Mable Doumbia who had 20 points on the evening. She closed out the first half with the final five points for AWC, giving them a 47-24 lead at the break.

It wasn't until there was 6:09 remaining in the third quarter that Central Arizona was able to tack on more. By that point, Arizona Western had built a 56-28 lead.

From then on, the Matadors stayed consistent in their efforts, but were playing the waiting game as the clock worked its way to zero.

"Our energy level was right. Our one-two guard was right, and just imposing our will on the other team to get what we want. We're in that championship game, and now we got another mountain to climb," said one of the players.

That mountain is the top-ranked team in the nation: Eastern Arizona. The Matadors are 0-3 to this point in the season when playing the Gila Monsters and most recently took a 71-44 loss to them in the regular season finale.