Central Arizona has wrapped up the ACCAC women's basketball championship, as well as the top seeding in the Region I tournament, while the DII regional race has tightened.
CAC (24-3, 19-0) ran its winning streak to 13 while defeating Chandler-Gilbert and Glendale. In the CGCC win, 81-51, Denali Hughes came off the bench to lead the way with 24 points. Ayanna Clark scored 14 and pulled down 12 rebounds. In an 84-44 win at Glendale, Makayla Pippin had the biggest game with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Pima has sliced Mesa's lead for the top DII seeding to just one game.
The Aztecs (20-7, 13-6) did it by topping MCC, 58-46, in Tucson. Alyssa Perez scored 17 for PCC and Hallie Lawson had a 15-12 double-double. The T-Birds were led by Jayla Johnson with 15. Pima kept pace in its second game of the week, a 97-68 win at home against South Mountain. In that one Lawson had 21 more points and Fama Thiam scored 19.
Mesa (17-9, 14-5) kept its one-game lead by bouncing back with a 62-52 win at home over Eastern Arizona. Myka Taliman scored 14 and Jacey Salabiye 13 for MCC, while Isis Smith led EAC with 14 and Danija Stafford scored 12 and added 10 rebounds.
Mesa and Pima have clinched the top two Region I seeds, but there is a three-wat race for the third and fourth places with all three tied with 9-10 conference marks. Chandler-Gilbert (13-13), South Mountain (11-12) and Phoenix (9-18) are deadlocked with three games to play. None will face each other over the final three games.
The regional outlook in DI is clearer. Cochise is three in front of Eastern Arizona which, in turn, has eliminated Arizona Western.