Atherton, Calif. - The Lady Firestorm trailed by 12 (22-10) in the opening moments of the second quarter, but dug deeper than they have all season to defeat #4-seed Jessup 70-59. A 23-point flip was a testament to the starting five playing complimentary basketball, which featured hard-nosed rebounding, timely buckets and committed defense.

Alyssa Alvarez, recently named to her third All-GSAC team, was quiet in the first half but turned on the afterburners the rest of the way to lead ACU with 19 points and four assists. Three other starters scored in the double digits, including Emily Till who manufactured her ninth double-double of the 2023-24 season (11 points, 12 rebounds).

Graciela Roybal sent shock waves through the whole team, converting three three-pointers in the second quarter to energize an eventual comeback. Kayla Clark registered a career-high 11 rebounds in the contest and knocked down her lone shot attempt, a momentum-swinging three-pointer in the second quarter.

Rusty Rogers collected his first postseason win as head coach of the Lady Firestorm and the program just its second win in its sixth appearance in the GSAC Women's Basketball Tournament. If ACU should move on past #1-seed Vanguard, it would mark the first time they play for a GSAC title.

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 70 | Jessup 59
Records: ACU 18-11 (7-7 GSAC) | JU 22-7 (9-5 GSAC)
Location: Haynes-Prim Pavilion - Atherton, CA

STAT TRACKER

Alyssa Alvarez - 19 pts, 6 rebs, 4 ast
Lauren Gunn - 15 pts, 1 rebs, 2 ast
Halle Payne - 12 pts, 7 rebs
Emily Till - 11 pts, 12 rebs, 4 ast
Graciela Roybal - 10 pts, 1 rebs, 2 ast
Kayla Clark - 3 pts, 11 rebs, 2 ast

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

This year's GSAC playoffs proved to be a back-and-forth slug fest, ACU edging Jessup 10-9 through the opening five minutes. However, Gunn's three-ball that gave the Firestorm the lead was the last positive offensive trip for some time. The Firestorm would miss their next nine shots to end the quarter and see the Warriors close on an 11-0 scoring run. Natalie Moulos was the top point-getter for Jessup (six points), and the Warriors outrebounded the Firestorm 17-10.

Alvarez finally ended the scoring drought with a hard drive and layup with 8:13 left in the first half. The three-pointer was a lifeline for the Firestorm, who nailed 4-of-7 in the second quarter to get right back in the game. Roybal was invaluable with three of these hits and also gave up her body on multiple occasions, absorbing two charges from Jessup. ACU whittled the Jessup lead down to two (28-26) thanks to a 12-4 scoring run to close the half. In contrast to the first quarter, the Firestorm won the rebounding battle 15-9 and transformed six offensive boards into eight second-chance points.

Till tied the game at 28 on the Firestorm's first possession of the second half. A three-ball from Alvarez and second bucket by Till elevated ACU to a six-point lead with 6:21 remaining in the third quarter. Active hands on the offensive and defensive end (Till putting back an offensive rebound and a Gunn steal leading to a fast-break score by Halle Payne) safeguarded the Firestorm advantage. Alvarez nailed her second three of the ball game to lift ACU to their largest lead (43-36) with 1:04 on the clock. Rebounding was a factor yet again, the Firestorm corralling 13 (six offensive) to Jessup's eight.

The game's outcome was still very much up in the air, but the Firestorm were offensively sound (8-of-13 from the floor) and never let up. Andrea Jovicevic, the Warriors' top scorer in the regular season, sank a three-pointer with just a tick under nine minutes remaining to cut the ACU advantage to two (45-43). Alvarez responded with two of her own from three-point country. Gunn took the baton from Alvarez and reeled off seven points in under a minute to increase the lead to 10 (58-48). Back-to-back Warrior threes made it a four-point game with 3:50 left to decide each team's fate.

Successful layups from Payne and Till mixed with Warrior's going cold offensively. The final two minutes would be won or lost at the free-throw line for the Firestorm. Only days removed from a disappointing free-throw performance against #8 Vanguard, ACU knocked down 8-of-10 in the closing stretch and secured a postseason victory.

The Firestorm's latest signature win proves that pressure does in fact produce diamonds.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH RUSTY ROGERS

"Great victory for our program," Coach Rogers said. "We finally took it to another level and broke a huge barrier. Very appropriate that we battled back from a 12-point deficit and won by 11. Very symbolic of our season!"

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Lady Firestorm continue their postseason push, matching up with the #1-seed Vanguard Lions in the semifinals of the GSAC Women's Basketball Tournament. Round three of this season's series is set for tomorrow night at 6:00 PM MST from Menlo College. Follow the action live by watching the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/menlo/. 

   
Roll Storm!