Glendale, AZ – It was a back and forth affair for three quarters between ACU and the Redhawks of Benedictine (AZ) but the Firestorm managed in the final stanza to pull away and earn their first victory of the young season.  Senior Emily Till led all scorers and rebounders with 20 points and 10 rebounds. 
 
In the first quarter, the Firestorm struggled to find their shooting touch and fell behind early 7-2.  But after giving up seven points in the first three minutes, they only surrendered two points the rest of the way while the post play of Till and Shaylynn De Yager combined for eleven points helping the Firestorm end the opening period up six points.
 
The Redhawks would bounce back though in the second quarter by hitting three of six from long range and getting contributions from five different players.  The Firestorm on the other hand shot just 22% from the field but were kept in it through the bench play of freshman Charlotte O'Neal who scored ten of her twelve points in the period.  She did most of her damage by getting to the free throw line where she converted seven of her eight attempts.
 
The third quarter saw Taylor Schwab get hot from the outside scoring three times from the three point line and making five field goals in all enroute to scoring 13 of her 19 points in the period.  The Redhawks countered with two ladies combining for 15 points, and despite the Firestorm scoring 24 in the period, the Redhawks scored 22, and stayed within striking distance entering the four quarter.
 
In the final period though, Till took over on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.  She got the scoring started at the 8:00 mark converting a three-point play.  Two minutes later she converted a layup followed by a jumper to extend the Firestorm lead to ten points.  Teammates Schwab, De Yager, and senior Addison Neal all helped from there to extend the lead to its final margin of fourteen.
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