Glendale, Ariz. - Arizona Christian completed a series sweep of rival OUAZ on Saturday, overcoming their second-worst offensive output of the season (32.9 FGP) with active defense to win 72-59 on their home court. Besides winning the turnover battle by seven (19-12, OUAZ), the Lady Firestorm controlled the offensive glass with 14 boards compared to seven for the visiting Spirit.

Alyssa Alvarez cruised to her 14th game of the 2023-24 season with at least 20 points (27) and led all scorers (OUAZ's Angel Addleman was second with 19 points). 

Emily Till was one point shy of a double-double, but gathered 12 rebounds to surpass the 10-rebound mark for the 14th time this year. Halle Payne, like much of this season, complemented Till with eight points and seven rebounds in her 28 minutes on the floor.

While not as efficient as her season debut, Graciela Roybal (4-of-11) was the Firestorm's second-highest scorer with 12 points and collected a season-high five rebounds.

ACU's latest victory sees them rise to fifth in the GSAC standings, as Hope International fell to The Master's 80-71 at Darling Pavilion about an hour after this game went final.

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 72 | OUAZ 59
Records: ACU 16-10 (6-6 GSAC) |OUAZ 8-12 (0-12 GSAC)
Location: ACU Events Center - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Alyssa Alvarez - 27 pts, 6 rebs, 2 ast
Graciela Roybal - 12 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast
Emily Till - 9 pts, 12 rebs, 2 ast
Halle Payne - 8 pts, 7 rebs, 1 ast
Lauren Gunn - 7 pts, 3 rebs, 2 ast
Shaylynn De Yager - 4 pts, 3 rebs

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Baskets were tough to come by for both teams in this one, and the first quarter set the tone. There were four ties in the early going, when back-to-back three-point hits from Lauren Gunn and Roybal lifted the Firestorm to a 14-9 lead with 1:28 left in the opening quarter. Only one player between OUAZ and ACU (Brianna Humphries, 2-of-3) made multiple field goals in the first 10 minutes of play, the two squads combining for 10-of-35 shooting.

Addleman nailed two free throws and Humphries converted a fastbreak to draw within one just over 9- seconds into the second. Roybal silenced a mini scoring run with her second three of the game and then Alvarez began to take over. Number 20 knocked down three of her next four shots to give ACU a seven-point lead (33-26). By the first half's conclusion, the Firestorm would attempt 21 more shots than the visiting Spirit (47-26) but only possess a nine-point advantage (35-26). 

The third quarter was no offensive clinic, but each team performed with greater efficiency. Alvarez was responsible for 11 of ACU's 17 points, going a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and nailing her lone three-pointer of the quarter. Her third bucket elevated the Firestorm to their largest lead of the contest (46-30) with 6:52 remaining. There would be a three minute stretch the Firestorm would not score, and a 9-2 run from OUAZ, finished off by a Cierra Kiser jumper, kept it a seven-point game heading into the fourth.

Two quick layups by the Spirit saw the ACU lead shrink to three (52-49). Till made a tough jumper to stop the bleeding, and utilized seven rebounds in the quarter to safeguard the game's end result. A three-pointer from OUAZ's Marlee Johnson inched the Spirit to a four-point deficit, but four consecutive misses followed and the Firestorm rattled off eight unanswered. A three from Alvarez and free throw from Till matched their largest lead of the contest (70-54), as solid free throw work the entire quarter (9-of-10) padded an eventual 13-point victory.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH RUSTY ROGERS

"An ugly win is better than an ugly loss," Coach Rogers said. "We just had major problems converting our field goal attempts all game long… Fortunately, we played one of our better defensive games and really controlled the boards in the second half, led by Till and Payne. Alvarez and Roybal gave us enough scoring to get the job done."

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Lady Firestorm set their sights on the final week and final two games of the regular season. One last push before the GSAC playoffs begins Thursday night with Hope International (13-9, 5-7 GSAC). Tipoff from ACU Events Center is slated for 5:30 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!