Glendale, Ariz.- Graciela Roybal scored 20 points off the bench in her first game of the 2023-24 season to ignite a 78-74 win over Life Pacific. After taking an early 4-2 lead, ACU did not look back and never trailed the Warriors again. Four Firestorm players surpassed the 10-point mark (Roybal, Alyssa Alvarez, Kayla Clark, Shaylynn De Yager), featuring De Yager's first career double-double composed of 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Besides improving the Firestorm's GSAC record to 1-2 on the year, this latest win marks the 200th in program history. The Firestorm carry a 8-3 home record into Saturday's afternoon game against RV The Master's.

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 78 |Life Pacific 64
Records: ACU 11-6 (1-2 GSAC) |Life Pacific 9-6 (0-3 GSAC)
Location: ACU Events Center - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Graciela Roybal - 20 pts, 1 rebs, 1 stl
Shaylynn De Yager - 14 pts, 12 rebs, 2 ast
Alyssa Alvarez - 13 pts, 7 rebs, 4 ast
Kayla Clark - 12 pts, 6 rebs, 3 ast
Halle Payne - 6 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Though fireworks would certainly come, this one took a while to get off the ground, as the opening points did not come until 7:49 was shown on the clock. Following four ACU misses, Alyssa Alvarez tied the game up at 2-2 after nailing a jumper. Shaylynn De Yager had her way in the first quarter, amassing five points and four rebounds in just six minutes. With 3:44 left in the quarter, Graciela Roybal checked in for the first time all season. She made her presence felt almost instantly, knocking down two three-pointers and adding a steal. 

With a 21-10 advantage to begin the second, De Yager remained active in the paint, pulling down four rebounds, blocking a shot and scoring her third field goal in the first 2:15. Life Pacific was held to under 30% from the floor for a second consecutive quarter (28.6%), kept afloat by Sophia Ganino who shot 3-of-4 from three-point land. ACU's final five field goals were all three-pointers, including three by Roybal, that bloated their lead to 16 points at halftime.

A wide open three-point hit by Kayla Clark increased the Firestorm edge to 18 (49-31) in the early stages of the third quarter. A back-and-forth offensive display, featuring two strong buckets by Taylor Teeple (her first appearance as a Firestorm), kept the lead at 55-37. However, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run to close the gap. Life Pacific's Kyori Lloyd (25 points, 11 rebounds) burned ACU for 14 points in the quarter on 5-of-7 shooting. Four missed shots and two turnovers in the final 3:18 saw ACU's lead dwindle to six.

A second three from Clark and soft touch in the paint from Halle Payne pushed the Firestorm lead back up to 12 (64-52) with 6:00 left in the contest. Julianna Sanchez cashed in on a three on the Warrior's next possession but Life Pacific was unable to push the envelope any further. The Firestorm successfully hit four of their next five shot attempts, capped off by Roybal's fifth three-pointer of the game. Six different ACU players got into the scoring column in the final quarter, as the Firestorm defense held the Warriors to under 30% from the floor a third time (29.4%).

THOUGHTS FROM COACH RUSTY ROGERS

"It was great to get a couple more kids back from injury in Graciela Roybal and Taylor Teeple," Coach Rogers said. "It gave us a glimpse of what kind of depth we were expecting when we came into the season… Shaylynn De Yager did a great job in her first start. Halle Payne has been sidelined the last five days but really came through when we needed her. Very pleased with the energy and competitiveness of the team!"

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Firestorm close out their first home conference weekend with RV The Master's (14-2, 2-1 GSAC) on Saturday. Tipoff from ACU Events Center will come at 12:00 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!