Phoenix, AZ- After beating Johnson & Wales 78-56 on Thursday night, Arizona Christian turned around on Saturday and beat JWU with nearly the same score- 70-56.   Sophomore Courtney Christmas recorded a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.

The first seven points of the game for ACU came from four different players.  Christmas opened the scoring with a free throw.  Sophomore Jada Willingham hit a jumper followed by Sophomore Makayla Enders converting a layup in the paint assisted by Willingham.

JWU tied the game at 5-5 before Junior Suzie Castro-Larsen scored the first two points of her ACU career to regain the lead.  After another tie, Castro-Larsen cashed in again to give the Firestorm (2-0) a 9-7 edge.

There would not be even another tie the rest of the afternoon.

By halftime, ACU held a 32-24 lead.  Christmas topped Arizona Christian with eight points but had already pulled 10 rebounds.

Double digit second half scoring from three players (Christmas- 13 points, Enders- 11 points, and Willingham- 10 points) helped ACU pull away in the final two quarters.

Behind the 21 points from Christmas, Enders ended with 15 points and Willingham added 14 points.  Senior Courtney Leach reached double digits in rebounding as she pulled down 10 boards.

The Firestorm could not stop McCorra Ford (pictured with Christmas) as she doubled up with a game high 25 points and 11 rebounds.  But no other Wildcat reached double figures.

On Friday, the Firestorm will host their first of four classics.  The women will play in state rival Benedictine-Mesa at 7:30 pm on Friday.