Phoenix, AZ- After leading by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter, Arizona Christian let their lead slip completely away as they fell to Menlo 71-67 on Saturday afternoon.  Senior Madison Austin and Freshman Courtney Christmas had identical lines of 16 points and 7 rebounds.

Austin made two free throws and Christmas scored on a layup sandwiched around a basket from Menlo to grab an early 4-3 lead.  Another ACU free throw and Menlo basket tied the score at 5-5 with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter.

The Firestorm (9-7, 1-2 GSAC) exploded for 16 points in the final part of the quarter to grab a 21-9 edge.  Austin recorded seven points and four rebounds in the first 10 minutes.  Senior Alyssa Gruber added six points.  The Firestorm outrebounded the Oaks 14-6 in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, ACU grew their lead to 16 before finishing the half with a 35-21 lead.  Neither team had a player reach double digits in the first half of action.

A three by Gruber and eventually a jumper from Christmas both accounted for Arizona Christian's 17 point advantage.

Down 40-23, the Oaks (8-9, 1-3 GSAC) started their comeback by outscoring the Firestorm 20-16 to close out the third quarter.

Menlo started chipping away even more once the fourth quarter began. 

An 8-2 run by Menlo with only 1:25 coming off the clock forced a tie of 66-66 with 1:17 to play.  Christmas converted one of two free throws at the 1:01 mark for the one point lead but the Oaks scored the final five points of the game to earn the win.

The Oaks shot a solid 50% from the floor in the fourth quarter while the Firestorm went cold shooting as they managed to convert just three of their 20 shots (15%).  Menlo also won the rebounding battle 17-11 in the quarter.

Vanessa D'Amico poured in 20 of her 24 points in the second half to head up the Menlo charge.  Ten second half points from Christmas was not enough to counter D'Amico's effort.

Senior Jazmin Mays ended with a nice line of nine assists, nine rebounds, and six points.

On Thursday, the Firestorm will head to Santa Barbara for a meeting with current NAIA #1 Westmont.  The game will tip-off at 6:30 pm (AT)/ 5:30 pm (PT).