Mikayla Pippin leads Vaqueras with 24 points in win against Glendale
Mikayla Pippin leads Vaqueras with 24 points in win against Glendale

Vaqueras Win By 70

Vaqueras trounce Gauchos
By ED PETRUSKA Contributing Writer Pinal Central

 

SIGNAL PEAK — The Central Arizona College women's basketball team never gave Glendale a glimmer of hope in Wednesday night's 108-38 victory at the George Young Activity Center.

The 14th-ranked Vaqueras reeled off 22 unanswered points at the outset and didn't allow the Gauchos to score until their 13th possession. Glendale's point total tied a season low for a Central opponent.

"We came out strong," CAC coach Denise Cardenas said. "We were hitting shots and our defense was good. Everybody got to play a significant amount of minutes, and when that happens it means you're taking care of business early on."

Six Vaqueras reached double digits in the scoring column. Makayla Pippin led the way with 24 points, followed by Ayanna Clark with 18, Denali Hughes and Alexia Marsh with 14 apiece, Jenay Bojorquez with 11 and Ariana Davis with 10.

Clark now has 1,020 points in her CAC career.

The first quarter was a masterpiece for the Vaqueras (13-3, 8-0 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference). They outscored the Gauchos 35-7, going 14 for 25 from the field while holding Glendale (7-9, 0-8 ACCAC) to 2-of-16 shooting. The Gauchos committed eight turnovers on their 22 possessions, which Central converted into 13 points.

"After the first few minutes, we kind of had them on their heels," Cardenas said. "And we continued to be aggressive."

The Vaqueras outscored Glendale 24-6 in the second period, going on a 15-1 run during one stretch, to take a 59-13 halftime lead.

Following a 17-2 surge in the third quarter, the margin grew to 50 points on a second-chance basket by Hughes that made it 83-23 with 2:39 remaining in the period.

Laney Lupe's 3-point basket extended CAC's lead to 95-35 with 4:55 remaining. The Vaqueras reached 100 points for the fourth time this season on Mahogany Menefee's 3-pointer with 1:59 left.

"I like our energy right now," Cardenas said. "We just have to sustain it. And we have to stay humble because we haven't done anything yet."

CAC shot 47 percent for the game, going 41 of 87 overall and 12 for 31 on 3-pointers. The Vaqueras scored 27 points off Glendale's 28 turnovers and finished with 26 second-chance points.

Zya Burk led the Gauchos with 15 points.

Glendale went 3 for 24 from the floor in the first half (13 percent) and 10 for 30 in the second half.

After starting the season 6-0, the Gauchos have lost eight straight