Phoenix, AZ- With his team inching closer and closer to their first ever Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament berth, Coach Odell Berry knew his team was in for a battle on Saturday. Given the intensity of this game, one that left everyone on the edge until the final buzzer sounded, a battle might be an understatement. 

The Firestorm (12-9, 6-4 GSAC), led by 30 points from Courtney Christmas, notched their sixth conference win of the season on Saturday with a 92-88 win over Menlo . While getting your sixth conference win might not excite some people, for the Firestorm this win marks a new high for the growing program. The win also puts them firmly in fourth place in the GSAC standings as they begin the home stretch of an impressive season.

"We've talked about the fact that we are young, but we are in the home stretch of this season" Coach Berry said, "I'm very proud of their hard work and attention to detail.  I think we are still a work in progress, but I like where we are at this point in the season."

Early in Saturday's match it became very apparent that The Oaks had no intention on being pushed around. Quickly jumping out to a 10-4 lead, the Oaks (9-14, 2-8 GSAC) spent the early part of the games racing the Firestorm up and down the court and causing all sorts of problems for their offense. After a timeout by Coach Berry, the Firestorm then began to find their rhythm and started to get back into the game. Behind two late three pointers from Freshman Guard Kelsey Miranda, The Firestorm closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run to bring them back to within one (17-16).

Midway through the second quarter, the Firestorm grabbed their first lead of the game on a Christmas jumper and then saw the sophomore trio of Christmas, Jada Willingham (16 pts), and Makayla Enders (17 pts) lead the way to secure a 37-30 halftime lead.

Early in the second half, it looked like the Firestorm might be able to start pulling away from the Oaks as they came out firing to jump to a 44-33 lead. But the Oaks used a 12-2 run to spring them back within a point. With the teams trading baskets for the rest of the quarter, ACU headed into the fourth quarter with a 59-54 lead.

The fourth quarter certainly proved to have a little bit of everything in it and did not disappoint. The Firestorm were able to stretch their lead to eight early on, but a couple turnovers and rushed shots allowed the Oaks to get their transition game going resulting in them retaking the lead 72-70 on an Alexis Dolivo layup. The Firestorm quickly responded with Enders hitting another jumper, but the last few minutes saw the game take a new tone. After an and one by Willingham saw the Firestorm extend their lead to 78-73 with a little over a minute left, Menlo decided it was time to turn the game into a free throw shooting contest. Any who doubts the importance of free throws in a basketball game should watch the game tape because the Firestorm were a prime example of how to handle that situation. Hitting 14 of 15 free throws over the course of the last minute and a half, Arizona Christian was able to hold on for the win in what seemed like the longest minutes of basketball ever to be played.

Said Coach Berry, "I know we are a good free throw shooting team and Menlo really had no choice but to turn the game into a free throw shooting contest.  There wasn't enough time and our lead was too big for them to overcome any other way.  Our team showed great poise down the stretch.  I think it should serve as a warning to others not to get into a free throw battle with us.

The Firestorm still have their eyes set on the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament, and today's win has helped keep them on that path. With huge road matches coming up this week against (3) Westmont and (21) The Masters University, the Firestorm know that they still have a lot of work to do, but each day this team is growing more and more confident in themselves and what their abilities.   

Next Up for the Firestorm

Thursday 2/9 @ #3 Westmont

Saturday 2/11 @ #21 The Master's

Next Home Game

Tuesday 2/14 vs Hope International