Phoenix, Ariz.- Two days after Christmas, the Firestorm engaged nearby Grand Canyon University in an exhibition decided 115-41 in favor of the Lopes. Freshman Addison Neal took the hardfloor for a season-high 26 minutes and led the team with 13 points (5-for-11). On a particularly tough shooting night (18-for-59) against a high-level NCAA Division I program, Shaylynn De Yager and Madison Kekic held their own, each posting six points on a combined 5-for-10 from the field.

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 41 | Grand Canyon 115
Records: ACU 9-4 (0-0 GSAC) | Grand Canyon 9-3 (2-0 WAC)
Location: GCU Arena - Phoenix, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Addison Neal  - 13 pts, 1 rebs, 5 ast
Madison Kekic - 6 pts, 1 rebs, 1 ast
Shaylynn De Yager - 6 pts, 1 rebs, 1 ast
Emily Till - 4 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast
Cynthia Lopez - 4 pts, 1 rebs

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Matched up with the GCU Lopes for the 10th time in program history, the Firestorm struggled to score early and could not extend possessions (two offensive rebounds in the first quarter). GCU registered the first 18 points of the contest, before Addison Neal made a bucket in the paint. Seven ACU turnovers led to 12 points for the Lopes. Though evenly spread, Sydney Erikstrup led the pack for GCU with six points off of two three-point hits.

Offensive production did not improve for the Firestorm into the second 10 minutes of play (3-for-13). With turnovers once again plaguing ACU (11), the Lopes were able to feast on fast-break opportunities and put up 68.2% shooting (15-for-22) in the quarter. Sydney Erikstrup and her twin sister Laura combined for 17 of the Lopes' 35 points, as three different Firestorm (Shaylynn De Yager, Emily Till, and Tarissa Moore) got ACU on the scoreboard.

The third quarter ended up being the Firestorm's most potent, as they shot 6-for-14 from the floor. ACU found a bit of rhythm, scoring on four consecutive possessions with assists on three of them. Trinity San Antonio, GCU's leading scorer heading into tonight's exhibition, rattled off 10 of her 14 points and all came in the paint. 

In their final quarter of prep before Park Gilbert on Saturday, the Firestorm narrowed the scoring divide to the lowest all night (23-14, GCU). Neal closed out her 13-point performance with six in the fourth, as Cynthia Lopez and De Yager each contributed four to the cause. GCU's Anna Ostlie drained all three of her three-pointers in the middle portion of the quarter. While the Lopes sat well ahead, the Firestorm held them to their lowest field goal percentage to finish the game (44.4%).

THOUGHTS FROM COACH RUSTY ROGERS

"Very, very difficult game for us in so many ways," Coach Rogers said. "GCU is never an easy opponent and with the illnesses and injuries we are currently enduring, we struggled mightily. I can say that we put forth a much better effort in the second half and I believe we actually learned a few things about our team tonight that will help us going forward!"

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Firestorm will square off with Park Gilbert (5-5) this Saturday, December 30th at ACU Events Center. ACU's non-conference schedule will be completed with tipoff coming at 4:00 PM. Follow the action with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary and watch the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian. 
   

Roll Storm!