Phoenix, AZ- After surrendering an early lead, Arizona Christian used a big second quarter to take control of the game in their 87-68 upset win over #15 The Master's.  Junior Courtney Christmas delivered game highs of 32 points and nine rebounds in the win.

The Firestorm (12-3, 1-1 GSAC) began the game with an 8-0 edge as they held the Mustangs (10-4, 1-2 GSAC) scoreless for the first four minutes.  Christmas and Junior Makayla Enders both scored four points in the opening scoring.

After ACU built a 10-2 edge, TMU responded with a 14-5 run to grab a 16-15 lead.  They stayed front into the second quarter with a 19-17 at the quarter break.

Christmas scored the first six points of the second quarter for the 23-19 ACU cushion.  TMU went back ahead at 27-26.  However, Arizona Christian allowed just two more points as they exploded for 16 points in the final 3:34 of the half.  Enders nailed a triple, followed by two Christmas threes, and a three from Junior Jada Willingham.

With a 42-29 advantage at the break, Christmas was already at 16 points with Enders at 12 points (she ended up at 19 points).

Moving ahead by 17, ACU saw their lead slip into single digits at the end of the third quarter and in and out of double digits until five minutes to play.  But like the second quarter, the Firestorm sealed the deal with a 14-4 run to close out the game.

Freshman Sierra Stephan found her range in the second half as she knocked down three of her four three pointers in the final 20 minutes for a career high total of 14 points.  Willingham accounted for 10 points.

Sophomore Brooke Bailey topped TMU with 20 points.

Head Coach Odell Berry stated, "I always tell my team you aren't a great team until you beat a great team.  Tonight we beat a great team.  It was a very well-played team effort.  We played great perimeter defense against one of the best three point shooting teams in the country.  Offensively we played together and played with focus and maturity.  I know we played well tonight, I'm just not sure how much better we can get.  That will determine just how high we can fly this season."

On Saturday, the Firestorm will host #14 Westmont at 2:00 pm.