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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
WBB Preview - 1/20/24

Women's Basketball Payne Moses

Round One Of Rivalry Week

Glendale, Ariz.- The Lady Firestorm revitalized their conference hopes by going 2-0 this past weekend with home victories over Life Pacific and RV The Master's. Momentum is on the line this week as ACU matches up with rival OUAZ this Saturday in Surprise. Their upcoming game signifies the start of a three-game road trip in the heart of GSAC play.

Four games into the GSAC schedule, ACU climbed to second in points per game (75.3) and is now first in free throw percentage in the GSAC (76.0). Alyssa Alvarez retains her second position in GSAC scoring (18.9 PPG), Emily Till maintains distance at second in rebounding (10.7 RPG), Halle Payne slides to seventh in field goal percentage (48.4) and Kayla Clark is sixth in assists (3.1 APG).

Game Details

Arizona Christian at OUAZ - Saturday, January 20 at 12:00 PM

Faith Arena - Surprise, AZ

*All Times Listed Are Arizona Time

Live Coverage

Video - https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian 
Live Stats - https://ouazspirit.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary 

Arizona Christian

Lights out free-throw shooting and clutch bench play led the Firestorm to a 79-72 home win over RV The Master's on Saturday. A tightly contested game through three quarters (55-54, ACU), the Firestorm outscored the visiting Mustangs 24-18 in the final frame to secure their second GSAC victory.

ACU's ninth home win this season was fronted by Alyssa Alvarez, who racked up 31 points that featured a whopping 16-of-17 from the free throw stripe. Despite coming off the bench for the first time all year, Emily Till maximized her 27 minutes by amassing a 14 point, 15 rebound double-double (her fifth of 2023-24). 

ACU Key Players

Alyssa Alvarez - 18.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.6 APG
Lauren Gunn - 15.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.6 APG
Graciela Roybal - 14.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.0 APG (2 games)
Halle Payne - 12.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.4 APG
Emily Till - 8.4 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.8 APG
Kayla Clark - 4.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.1 APG

Series Notes

In 13 games, the Firestorm are 12-1 against the OUAZ Spirit in a series that dates back to the 2017-18 season. ACU has won by an average of 23.8 points, the largest margin of victory being 44 (93-49) and the smallest being six (62-56). Their lone loss to OUAZ came on January 4, 2020 at ACU Events Center, a game decided 93-88. The most recent meeting was the most lopsided, 93-49 in favor of the Firestorm. The game featured a 29-4 second quarter and 16-point performances by Alyssa Alvarez (5-of-8) and Halle Payne (7-of-10). ACU brings a 5-0 road record into Surprise on Saturday.

Coach Rusty Rogers' Thoughts

"We're looking to build on a successful week of GSAC play with a rivalry game at OUAZ this Saturday," Coach Rogers said. "As we gradually get our squad healthy, this is an important challenge for us to keep pace with the league leaders. With the addition of Graciela Roybal and Taylor Teeple to the team, I feel like the extra depth will pay dividends as we head into the heat of the conference schedule."
 
OUAZ

The Ottawa University Arizona Spirit (10-4, 0-4 GSAC) have been struggling as of late, dropping their opening four games in GSAC play. While the first two contests lacked drama (93-68, Jessup and 80-69, Menlo), OUAZ's previous weekend of conference play went down to the wire. They battled RV The Master's to a 50-50 tie through three quarters and slipped to a 75-68 final. Most recently, the Spirit lost 63-60 at home in a back-and-forth affair with Life Pacific where they trailed by one with eight seconds remaining. Angel Addleman leads the Spirit in scoring (14.8 PPG) and assists (3.8 APG), as Brianna Humphries sits atop the rebounding (7.2 RPG) and blocking (11 total) categories. OUAZ has the second-best free-throw percentage (75.1) in the GSAC.


Roll Storm!
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Players Mentioned

Alyssa Alvarez

#20 Alyssa Alvarez

G
5' 11"
Senior
Kayla Clark

#23 Kayla Clark

G
5' 4"
Junior
Lauren Gunn

#10 Lauren Gunn

G
5' 7"
Sophomore
Halle Payne

#21 Halle Payne

P
5' 9"
Junior
Graciela Roybal

#3 Graciela Roybal

G
5' 4"
Junior
Emily Till

#14 Emily Till

P
6' 0"
Sophomore
Taylor Teeple

#24 Taylor Teeple

W
6' 0"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Alvarez

#20 Alyssa Alvarez

5' 11"
Senior
G
Kayla Clark

#23 Kayla Clark

5' 4"
Junior
G
Lauren Gunn

#10 Lauren Gunn

5' 7"
Sophomore
G
Halle Payne

#21 Halle Payne

5' 9"
Junior
P
Graciela Roybal

#3 Graciela Roybal

5' 4"
Junior
G
Emily Till

#14 Emily Till

6' 0"
Sophomore
P
Taylor Teeple

#24 Taylor Teeple

6' 0"
Freshman
W