Fullerton, CA. – A week after winning a double overtime thriller at home, the #13 Lady Firestorm went on the road and won in overtime again, this time against the Royals of Hope International.  The team was led by Alyssa Alvarez who scored 22 points while pulling down 9 rebounds.  Alvarez was assisted by Graciela Roybal who scored 16 points and secured 3 of the teams 11 steals on the night.
 
Coming into the contest, Hope International boasted the longest current winning streak in the GSAC with five in a row.  This has pulled them back into playoff contention after starting the GSAC schedule with five straight losses.  Early on though, the Lady Firestorm maintained the upper hand.  Roybal scored 10 of her 16 points in the first quarter, and Alana Washington and Taylor Schwab came off the bench in the second period to combine for ten points of their own and help the Firestorm go to halftime with a six-point lead.
 
The Royals came out of the break and began to chip away.  Mia Heidt scored 5 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the third quarter, and their team defense held the Lady Firestorm to just 26% shooting to help the Royals enter the fourth period down just two points.
 
In the fourth quarter both teams struggled to score.  A free throw by Alvarez with 2:29 remaining put the Firestorm up by six points, but they were unable to score again, and after two lay ups by the Royals' Andrea Javier, two free throws by Amira Austin with seven seconds remaining sent the game to overtime.
 
In the extra period, neither team led by more than four points, and Alvarez made two free throws with 51 seconds remaining which proved to be the final scoring in the game as the Firestorm defense was able to make two big stops to end the contest.
 
Thoughts from Head Coach Rusty Rogers
"Another game that required us to persevere and battle adversity.  Our veterans really came up big with clutch plays on both ends of the floor.  Hope came into the game as the hottest team in the GSAC, so we knew it would be a battle!"
 
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