Phoenix, AZ- Playing for the second time in as many days, Arizona Christian and Eastern Oregon played nearly an identical game as the night before- a back and forth contest with ACU holding on for 66-58 win.  Senior Madison Austin and Freshman Moana Hala'ufia lead with 12 points.  Senior Jazmin Mays was all over the floor with team highs of six assists and seven rebounds.

Just like Friday evening, Saturday evening started out with the Mountaineers (0-2) scoring first, the Firestorm (2-0) answering with a jumper from Freshman Makayla Enders and then a three pointer from Austin to take their first lead before EOU grabbed a sizable lead (seven point edge at 12-5 with 2:48 to  play in first quarter).

Also like Friday, ACU stormed right back with an 8-0 run to hold a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Hala'ufia bookended the scoring with four points in the paint.  Freshman Jada Willingham grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a jumper in the paint.  Enders added the other two points.

Quarter two started with the Mountaineers dropping in two three pointers to the tie the game and take the lead.  ACU moved back in front and EOU held the lead again for a brief time at 23-22.  Tied at 27-27, Freshman Courtney Christmas buried a three ball and ACU maintained the 30-27 edge going into the break.

Senior Alyssa Gruber and Hala'ufia topped the Firestorm with six points apiece.

The second half started with ACU moving up by five.  But Eastern Oregon once went back in front.  Trailing 40-37 with 5:22 to play, Arizona Christian fought back to outscore EOU 12-1 to end the third quarter.  Christmas broke a 41-41 tie and ACU would not trail again the remainder of the night.

Despite ACU building a 10 point advantage with eight minutes to play in the contest, EOU answered yet again and climbed back within one with four minutes to play.  But Gruber, Austin, Junior Samantha Young, and Christmas combined to convert 8-9 free throw attempts in the final three minutes to seal the deal.

The trio of Christmas, Gruber, and Willingham all ended with nine points.

As a team defensively, ACU held EOU to 29.9% shooting for the game while also forcing 19 turnovers.

Commenting on playing the same team twice, Head Coach Odell Berry said, "Tonight was another very tough, physical game against an excellent team.  It was one of those frustrating games that you felt like your team should pull away but girls from Eastern Oregon University would have none of it.  They just kept coming at us.  Ultimately, I think our size advantage and the depth on our bench got the better of them.  It's very tough to beat a quality opponent back-to-back but the Firestorm played with a lot of heart and refused to give in to a very tough team.  This was an excellent way to start our season against a very competitive opponent."

The Firestorm will return to the hardwood of Fultz Gym on Friday when they host UC Merced at 7:00 pm.