Santa Clarita, Calif. - Trailing by as much as 12, the Lady Firestorm fought back valiantly but were outlasted by The Master's 66-63 in overtime at The MacArthur Center. A three-point hit from Halle Payne in the opening minute of extra time gave Arizona Christian its largest lead of the game (59-56), but a costly turnover by Lauren Gunn with eight seconds on the clock sent the outcome in the other direction. 

Emily Till was a pillar in this one, posting her seventh double-double of the season (20 points, 13 rebounds) and hitting clutch shot after clutch shot. She certainly was complemented nicely by Gunn, who added 13 points and tied her career-high assists (8). 

Halle Payne had an efficient night (11 points on 4-of-8 shooting) including eight boards, but Alyssa Alvarez, typically a scoring machine, was limited to nine points and 4-of-16 from the floor.

ACU remains sixth place in the GSAC standings, one game behind Hope International (5-5) and two behind The Master's (6-4).

GAME INFO

Score: Arizona Christian 63 | The Master's 66
Records: ACU 14-10 (4-6 GSAC) |TMU 19-5 (6-4 GSAC)
Location: The MacArthur Center - Santa Clarita, CA

STAT TRACKER

Emily Till - 20 pts, 13 rebs, 3 ast
Lauren Gunn - 13 pts, 4 rebs, 8 ast
Halle Payne - 11 pts, 8 rebs, 2 stl
Alyssa Alvarez - 9 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast
Kayla Clark - 4 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

The Firestorm missed their first seven field goal attempts of the game, while the Mustangs knocked down their first three to jump out in front 7-0. Two three-pointers from Gunn in the final two minutes made light of the slow start, trimming the deficit to only two by quarter's end (15-13). The Master's mirrored ACU's cold beginning, misfiring on five of their final six shots of the quarter. Neither team played carelessly, as they recorded one turnover apiece.

A jumper from Shaylynn De Yager tied up the game just five seconds into the second, but the Mustangs would not concede the lead. Two quick threes from Isabela Hernandez gave TMU breathing room (21-15). Arizona Christian did fall victim to any further scoring run, as Gunn nailed her third three on the game and Kayla Clark soon followed with one of her own after a strong offensive rebound. Hernandez matched Gunn with her third three of the period (11 points total), and received some help from Laney Grider. No more fireworks were scheduled, as the two teams combined to miss their final seven shots.

For the third straight quarter, neither team shot above 40% from the field and The Master's narrowly won the third 12-11. The Mustangs tallied six unanswered to build their lead to the largest all game (12) with 8:24 left in the third. Till led the Firestorm with four points in the quarter, including a jumper that cut TMU's advantage to seven (43-36) by quarter's end. 

No time was wasted to begin the fourth quarter, as Till nailed her first three shot attempts and a bucket from Alvarez pulled ACU even (46-46) with TMU. Payne eventually hit a jumper to lift the Firestorm to a 56-54 lead with 1:52 remaining. Two unfortunate misses from Till and Alvarez left the door open, which Hernandez pounced upon and sent the game into overtime.

Despite the way regulation closed, Arizona Christian played with unchanging conviction and a huge three-pointer from Payne put them ahead 59-56. Two misses and a turnover by Gunn were met with three conversions by the Mustangs and suddenly the Firestorm were down 64-61 with 1:12 remaining. A driving layup from Gunn cut it to one. With 23 seconds left, there was no need to rush but things went awry and Gunn coughed it up once more. Alvarez had one last opportunity to force a second overtime but the desperation three was no good.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH RUSTY ROGERS

"Very disappointing loss–we felt like we should have had this game but we just didn't execute offensively and defensively in the most crucial possessions," Coach Rogers said. "Very proud of our team and our record is no indication of the caliber of basketball we are playing. All we can do at this point is play every game like it's our last and, firstly, get into the playoffs and, secondly, get the highest seeding possible to give us the best chance to win the tournament!"

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Lady Firestorm do not have to wait long to avenge this loss, having a Saturday date with Life Pacific (11-11, 2-8 GSAC). ACU seeks to rekindle a winning feeling, having defeated the Warriors 78-64 at ACU Events Center on January 11th. Tipoff from Mehl Court is set for 1:00 PM MST. Follow the action with live stats at https://www.lpuwarriors.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240210_ioz9.xml and watch the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian. 

   
Roll Storm!