Glendale, AZ. –The Lady Firestorm started their GSAC schedule with a convincing 92-49 victory over the visiting Redhawks of Benedictine-Mesa University.  The team was led in scoring by Lauren Gunn who scored 14 points, and Alana Washington who scored 13 points.
 
The game started slowly for the Firestorm as the Redhawks sought to establish their physical style of play.  The Redhawks Alize Ruiz did much of the damage early scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds in the first period alone.  But it was Gunn off the bench for the Firestorm who kept things on track by scoring seven points and helping the team to enter quarter number two with a four-point lead.
 
The second quarter saw the Firestorm go ice cold for the first five minutes.  The Redhawks Ruiz stayed hot, and got help from three different teammates who all hit three points, and so, what had been a four-point lead turned into a nine-point deficit with 3:21 remaining in the period.  It was at this point though that the Lady Firestorm turned up the full court press, and their defense began to create opportunities for the offense to breathe.  The onslaught began with a three from Graciela Roybal and was immediately followed by another three pointer from Gunn.  Roybal then hit a two-point jump shot that was followed by a lay-up for Alyssa Alvarez, and with one minute to go in the half, the score was tied up at 34 apiece.  The Firestorm were not done.  After another miss from the Redhawks, Alana Washington hit a jumper that was followed by a steal and layup by Mae Washington with 33 seconds to go.  Keeping the full court press going they created another turnover which led to an Alana Washington lay-up.  Washington was fouled on the make, and her free throw with seventeen seconds remaining completed the scoring, and ACU went into with a seven-point lead.
 
What the Firestorm managed over the last three and a half minutes of the first, they carried over for the entirety of the second half.  Using a suffocating full court defense, the Firestorm created ten turnovers in the third quarter alone and outscored the Redhawks by twenty-two points.  The Firestorm outscored the Redhawks 51-15 in the second half, and what appeared in the second quarter to be a back-and-forth battle in the end turned into a blowout.  Turnovers were key as the Lady Firestorm would score 34 points off 30 Redhawk turnovers.
 
Concluded Coach Rogers, "Outstanding team win!  A lot of contributions from a lot of our roster.  Couldn't ask for a better way to start conference play.  Ben-Mesa plays hard and physical, and we were able to settle down and play our game with pressure defense all over the floor.  Really proud of our effort and intensity!"
  
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