YUMA, Ariz. – The No. 14 ranked Arizona Western Matadors Women's Basketball team (12-1) returned from the holiday break with a 66-53 road win over the No. 8 ranked team in NJCAA DII, Mesa (11-6), on Saturday afternoon in Mesa, Ariz., at Theo Heap Gymnasium.

Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe led all scorers with 26 points while grabbing 10 rebounds to finish with the double-double in the win.

The Matadors and Thunderbirds played a back-and-forth first quarter with either team able to open up a lead larger than one possession. Zonzon-Huyghe drilled a three-pointer from the wing to give the Matadors a 14-12 lead with a minute left in the quarter before Mesa grabbed a bucket inside to even the score at 14-14 at the end of the first 10 minutes.

Arizona Western built a pair of three-point leads early in the second quarter, grabbing a 19-16 advantage on a basket from Jordan Labrador-Hallett after a Zozon-Huyghe steal before going up by three points at 23-20 on a Rita Gomes putback. The Matadors bumped the lead to six at 26-20 after a Gomes three but Mesa scored a bucket inside with a few ticks on the clock remaining to trim the Matadors' advantage to 32-30 at halftime.

After trading baskets and fouls early in the third quarter, Zonzon-Huyghe converted a layup off a Labrador-Hallett steal before Gomes buried a three to put the Matadors on a 5-0 run, pushing the lead out to 44-37. Mesa put together a 4-0 run late but the Matadors scored the final points of the quarter to head to the final period leading 46-40.

The Matadors scored nine of the first 12 points in the fourth quarter as Gomes, Zonzon-Huyghe, and Nyah Hardy hit threes on three consecutive possessions to push the lead out to 55-43. The Matadors took their largest lead of the game at 59-46 on a Zonzon-Huyghe layup midway through the fourth quarter.

Gomes was the Matadors' second-leading scorer with 19 points while Hardy finished as the third Matador in double-figures with 12. Dyvine Harris totaled a game-high six assists.

The Matadors head back out on the road on Wednesday, January 8, taking on Central Arizona in Coolidge, Ariz., at 5:30 pm.