Box Score Santa Clarita, CA- Courtney Christmas and Suzie Castro-Larsen led the wayfor the Firestorm, but the Firestorm couldn't close the deal against #21 The Masters.
Despite a fast start, the Firestorm (12-11, 6-6 GSAC) couldn't repeat their thrilling performance from earlier this season as they fell to The Master's on Saturday afternoon 70-63. Christmas contributed 18 points, while Castro-Larsen turned in a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds). Jumping out to an 8-2 lead early, the Firestorm looked geared up for another showdown, but the Mustangs outscored them 12-6 to end the quarter tied 14-14.
The second quarter saw the Mustangs open on an 8-0 run to grab their largest lead to that point, but the Firestorm never relented. Midway through the quarter, a jumper by Makayla Enders brought the Firestorm back within one. But an 11-4 run by the Mustangs allowed them to take an eight point lead into the half.
The second half saw the Mustangs come out shooting strongly, and ultimately swelling their lead to 19 points, and seeming to put the Firestorm away for good. But some quick points and an "and 1" for Castro-Larsen gave the Firestorm life, and with a Kelsey Miranda three-pointer at the buzzer the lead was back to single digits heading into the fourth.
Ultimately, the story of the fourth quarter was that the Firestorm just ran out of time. They were able to cut the lead back to five, but it was too little too late for them.
Despite the loss, the Firestorm still sit in 5th place in the conference with four games to go. With games this next week against Hope International and Vanguard, the ending of this season is setting up to be one of the most exciting in Firestorm Women's basketball history!
