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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Halle Payne calls for the ball
Thomas Aeschleman
41
Justice College JC 0-5
92
Winner Arizona Christian ACU 7-2
Justice College JC
0-5
41
Final
92
Arizona Christian ACU
7-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Justice College JC 9 12 10 10 41
Arizona Christian ACU 33 18 19 22 92

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Payne Moses

Unselfish Play Guides Firestorm Over Depleted Lions

Glendale, Ariz.- In the first-ever varsity game between the two basketball programs, the Lady Firestorm were disciplined in a 92-41 win over the Justice College Lions. Twelve of the 13 ACU players who saw action got into the scoring column, with three (Sophia Martinez, Halle Payne, Kayla Hourigan) amassing 12 points. Because Justice only had five eligible players in the contest, the Firestorm had the luxury of relying on their bench players, who accounted for 53 points.

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 92 | Justice College 41
Records: ACU 7-2 (0-0 GSAC) | Justice College 0-5 (0-0 SWS)
Location: ACU Events Center - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Sophia Martinez - 12 pts, 2 rebs, 2 ast
Halle Payne - 12 pts, 4 rebs, 2 stl
Kayla Hourigan - 12 pts, 9 rebs, 3 ast
Alyssa Alvarez - 11 pts, 2 rebs, 6 ast
Addison Neal - 9 pts, 4 rebs, 2 ast
Tarissa Moore - 7 pts, 12 rebs, 2 blks

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

From the game's onset, the Firestorm demonstrated the stark contrast between a program in its 21st year and one only in its fourth. ACU opened the first quarter on a 22-2 scoring run, Halle Payne shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and vaulting to 10 points in a little more than four minutes of play. Alyssa Alvarez and Sophia Martinez each tallied eight points and cashed in on two three-pointers. Justice College was held to 3-for-14 shooting and Chrisonie Sanders led the Lions with six points.

The second 10 minutes would eventually spell out the least lopsided quarter, as ACU outscored Justice 18-12. With Alvarez and Martinez sitting out the entire second quarter, players such as Tarissa Moore and Shaylynn De Yager stepped up and each put up four points on 4-for-7 combined shooting. The undermanned Lions recorded their best offensive effort of the game, Sanders and Nataly Esparragoza both earning four points from the field.

Holding a 51-21 advantage, the Firestorm were not offensively efficient in the third (8-for-25) but only committed three turnovers and snatched eight offensive boards. Seven different ACU players scored at least one field goal. Justice did not record a single offensive rebound in the quarter.

The fourth quarter of play was particularly kind to Kayla Hourigan and Addison Neal, who each scored six points and grabbed three rebounds. Neal knocked down two three-pointers and Halley Barram also joined the party in the fourth with five points on 2-for-2 shooting. Moore was credited with seven of her 12 total rebounds in the final 10 minutes, four being offensive. Of the 39 field goals made by ACU, 25 were assisted.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH RUSTY ROGERS

"It's never a rewarding feeling coming out on top of a contest like today, but I am very proud of our team and the way they handled themselves in a different kind of difficult game," Coach Rogers said. "They played unselfishly, celebrated each other throughout the 40 minutes and respected their opponent. You have to give the Justice College ladies a lot of credit for playing so hard and passionately despite being completely undermanned in terms of the number of available players!"

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Firestorm take some time off before traveling to Chandler for a second straight meeting with Justice College on December 14th. Tipoff will come at 5:00 PM. Follow the action with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary.  
   

Roll Storm!
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