Costa Mesa, Calif.- An inauspicious first quarter (24-8) proved too much for the Lady Firestorm to overcome as they fell 72-58 to the #12 Vanguard Lions. ACU's four road loss snapped a three-game win streak in the GSAC. With three post players absent, rebounding was an upward battle, to say the least, especially against a recent NAIA Player of the Week, Melissa Akullu.

Alyssa Alvarez, who led the Firestorm with 17 points (6-for-14, 4-for-9 3PT), took home no small consolation prize, as she broke the program's all-time assist record. Alvarez's two assists against the Lions lifted her to 301 over career, passing Toni Davis (299) who played at ACU from 2016 to 2020.

Graciela Roybal did not regress in her fourth game back from injury, hitting 4-of-8 from three-point range and scoring 14 points off the bench. Halle Payne managed a solid 11 points (5-for-11) and five boards, including three on the offensive end.

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 58 | #12 Vanguard 72
Records: ACU 13-7 (3-3 GSAC) |#12 Vanguard 12-3 (5-1 GSAC)
Location: Orange Coast College - Costa Mesa, CA

STAT TRACKER

Alyssa Alvarez - 17 pts, 4 rebs, 2 ast
Graciela Roybal - 14 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast
Halle Payne - 11 pts, 5 rebs, 2 ast
Lauren Gunn - 9 pts, 3 rebs, 3 ast
Shaylynn De Yager - 3 pts, 3 rebs

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Virtually nothing went right for the Firestorm in the opening 10 minutes. Shooting 3-for-14 (21.4%) from the floor and giving up 9-for-17 on the defensive end, ACU fell behind 24-8. Roybal and Payne each registered three points in a quarter that the Firestorm committed eight turnovers. Vanguard's Akullu did not take over (6 points, 3 rebounds), but five Lions got into the scoring column.

Near midway through the second quarter, ACU found itself trailing by 19 (33-14) following a three by VU's Airiana Madanski. Facing the largest deficit of the contest, the Firestorm closed the half on a 11-3 scoring run and whittled the Lions' lead down to eight (36-28). Alvarez was on fire going into the break, knocking down her final four field goals, three of them being from three-point country.

ACU scored on their first three offensive possessions of the third quarter to draw within one (36-35), Lauren Gunn, Shaylynn De Yager and Payne all getting in on the action. This was the closest it would be the remainder of the game, however, as VU connected on three consecutive three-pointers to balloon the lead up to 12 with 5:52 left. The Firestorm certainly kept it competitive, but the Lions won the quarter 23-18. Halle Si'i had 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting to lead the Lions.

Fireworks were absent from the fourth quarter, as both teams only managed four field goals apiece. Like the opening quarter, Alvarez did not record a single point and this time not a single shot attempt. Rebounding on both ends of the floor was the true separator, as VU dominated 15-3, including 10 offensive boards. Akullu was responsible for five offensive and seven total rebounds in a quarter she also led the Lions in scoring (8 points). Roybal sank both of her two three-point efforts to bring her total to four on the night.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH RUSTY ROGERS

"Wow, wow–what a miserable first quarter we had," Coach Rogers said. "Wow–what a complete turnaround we had over the last three quarters! Can't help but be concerned with our slow starts but, on the other hand, it's incredible to see the perseverance and grit this team displays game in, game out. We had three post players out of the lineup tonight for a game in which we faced arguably the best player in all of NAIA. Totally undersized, we battled and fell short because, in part, we just couldn't get any consistency with our defensive rebounding." 

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Firestorm will attempt to earn a split in Southern California on Saturday, as they square off with Hope International (11-5, 3-3 GSAC). Tipoff from Darling Pavilion is set for 12:00 PM MST. Follow the action with live stats at http://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240127_u7ik.xmland watch the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian. 

   
Roll Storm!