Arizona Western women’s hoops lands #8 seed in NJCAA tournament
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Upon the program's first Region 1 title and NJCAA tournament appearance in two decades, the Arizona Western College Matadors women's basketball team patiently waited for their place in the tournament bracket on Sunday evening.
Inside a room just off the gymnasium on AWC's campus, the entire team and coaching staff gathered in excitement to see who and when they would be playing in the upcoming NJCAA tournament.
In just a few short minutes past 5:30 pm MST, the announcement rang in and the cheers echoed.
After listing off the top 7 seeds receiving a first-round bye out of the 24-team field, there was a moment of pause, followed by a shocking celebration.
Across the screen read "Arizona Western College Matadors" coming in as the 8th seed, also receiving a first-round bye.
So with their first tournament appearance since 2002, the Lady Matadors will draw the winner of #9 seeded South Georgia Tech and #24 seeded Monroe College in the second-round on Thursday, March 17th in Lubbock, Texas.
Head Coach Patrick Cunningham had some praise for his team, along with saying the 8-seed is right where he thought his team would be.
“I figured we were between 8 and 12, so you start looking at it and you see who won the region tournaments and then you kind of track people," said Cunningham. "Once CSI, Southern Idaho, came in at 6, I had it pegged, I thought we were gonna be 8, maybe 9. So you know we’ll take 8, and watch our opponent play a game before we get them on Thursday.
"I'm so happy for the staff, for our athletic department, the administrators,and I'm happy for the players," added Cunningham. "They just put a year together where they stuck together, went through the ups and downs. They understand what the final goal was and they believed in each other, as well as the coaching staff. It's a credit to them to stick it out because it's a long time from August to March and they did a great job."
A long season it was, beginning with workouts and scrimmages throughout the fall before they finally hit the floor for regular season competition. Right off the bat, it was something special.
The Matadors started the year 4-1 before stringing together a 24-game win streak that lasted all the way until the regular season finale in a loss to Central on Sophomore night.
But after some rest with over a week off, the Matadors 28-2 regular season record culminated in a chance to reach the national tournament with the Region 1 final at home against Eastern Arizona last Friday night.
It was a rough start for the Matadors who went down 9-0 early, but it was a spark off the bench from ACCAC Player of the Year, Alliance Ndiba, that carried the Matadors out of the early hole.
Ndiba, who missed multiple games due to an ACL injury, returned for the title game and scored the first seven points for the Matadors.
Unfortunately, Ndiba went down again late in the second half and had to be helped off the floor with another knee injury. She would not return for the final seven minutes, but the Lady Matadors fended off an Eastern Arizona comeback and held on for a 68-56 win.
Teresa de Silva led the way with 19 points, followed by 13 from Faith Silva and Ndiba.
In the end, it has punched the Matadors a ticket to go dancing in the national tournament which is something two of the leaders have been working for.
"Unbelievable," said Sophomore guard Faith Silva. "Me and Buse and the other Sophomores have been dreaming about this for the past three years, we've been here the past three years because of Covid. It's just an amazing feeling."
"It was amazing. We were so happy and we were working so hard for this," said other Sophomore guard Buse Utku. "After the buzzer goes off, we were so happy and that feeling is amazing."
And of course, it's been a long time coming. Not only for the Sophomores who have been around for three years in a two-year program, but for the entire organization who has waited for this opportunity for two decades.
"It's always awesome when your team accomplishes what you say at the beginning of the year. This team has embraced every moment and done well with it," said assistant coach Chelsea Dewey. "It's been a fantastic group to be around. They come in focused and we are pretty hard on them but it's paid off in the long run."
At the end of the day, it was this team's ability to put themselves in the best position to make a run like this. And to Head Coach Patrick Cunningham in his 23rd season, this team made the most of their opportunities.
"We always talk about the last five minutes of the last game and we've been in the last five minutes of the Region championship a few times. We've been a one-seed a few times and we'd have bad luck or lose in overtime. Just a series of really tough breaks and you feel for the kids because that's who you really want to see enjoy this, is the players," said Cunningham. "But if you make the commitment and you work together and believe in each other, you have a chance. Just put yourself in the best possible spot and that's playing the last game at home, the Region final at home. They worked hard to get that done."
The Matadors will be on the road to Lubbock, Texas next week for their second-round matchup on March 17th. We will continue to follow the journey for the Lady Matadors right here on KYMA.
