YUMA, Ariz. - After the dust settles following another NJCAA season for the Arizona Western women's basketball team, the Lady Matadors accomplished a program first. Head Coach Chelsea Dewey and sophomore Mable Doumbia became the first coach and player in the history of the program to reach the NJCAA National Tournament in back-to-back seasons at Arizona Western College.

"When I took over the position it was the standard I wanted to set in order to take this program to new heights," Chelsea Dewey said. "Making the national tournament as an assistant in 2022 and coming up short against the eventually national champions, once you get the taste, that's what a competitor does. You just keep going and now we're making history and now it's how we can get even better. How can we evolve and get top talent in here."

Since Coach Dewey took over the program in the 2023-24 season, the Lady Matadors are 68-26 and reached the NJCAA DI National Tournament in back-to-back seasons now in just Dewey's second and third seasons. This past season, the Lady Matadors won the Region I championship game at No. 1 ranked Eastern Arizona to claim their spot into the tournament. In the national tournament, the Lady Matadors lost in the opening round to New Mexico Junior College who eventually made the championship game, falling to Eastern Arizona. 

"Just a few years ago the competition was different and there weren't any at-large bids to get into the tournament," Dewey said. "It's also a tip of the cap to our conference, the ACCAC. We go out and compete against nationally ranked teams and do well. Between ourselves and Eastern Arizona, we put ourselves against the best of the best and that makes a difference when it comes to getting into the national tournament."

Joining Coach Dewey in the unprecedented category in program history is sophomore guard, Mable Doumbia. The reigning ACCAC Player of Year and NJCAA All-American is also the first and only player in Arizona Western program history to appear in back-to-back national tournaments while playing at Arizona Western.

"Mable is a special human being," Dewey said. "I'm really going to miss her. She's currently on a college visit right now with a DI college. It hasn't hit me yet that I'll be without her. As a head coach it's also refreshing to see your players grow. We're here to build these women as basketball players and good people. I got to see that with Mable. She struggled with our practices as a freshman like all freshmen do. The international game to the American game is always different. Over time, we got to know each other better and trust went up. She took everything, all the tools we gave her, and she took it all to new heights. She loves the game and is so fun to watch. I'm going to miss everything about her and am very proud of the human being she's becoming."

For Coach Dewey and the Lady Matadors, the work doesn't end as filling the next roster is currently underway. 

"We'll be chasing a championship again," Dewey said. "The ACCAC regular season and the Region I title again with hopes to make another run in the national tournament. So, we're chasing down players that want to join us and compete for a national title. We're within arm's reach; we beat both teams that were in the final game."

The Lady Matadors have until 16 days after school restarts in the fall to fill and finalize the roster. This past season, besides Doumbia, 11 new faces joined the Lady Matadors and were molded under Coach Dewey and her staff into national competitors. Coach Dewey says she hopes to retain as many players as she can as well as add a few more peices to make another run.