Helena, Mont. - The Lady Firestorm opened the 2024-25 campaign with a difficult road test against the #8 team in the nation.  Despite falling behind by double digits in the first half, the Firestorm ladies rallied in the second half and pulled away with a dominating fourth period which saw them outscore the Fighting Saints by fourteen points.
 
Head Coach Rusty Rogers said, "I can't tell you how proud I am of our teams' performance!  Defeating the NAIA #8 team in the country on their home court is quite an accomplishment – especially considering we were down 18 points late in the second quarter." 
 
Down by as much as eighteen, and facing foul trouble, the Lady Firestorm turned to freshmen Alana Washington, Mae Washington and Taylor Schwab to keep the Firestorm within striking distance.  Despite their efforts, the Firestorm still found themselves down fifteen points at the half.
 
It was the second half though where familiar Firestorm faces began to take over.  Using a balanced attack which saw six different ladies score the ball, the Firestorm were able to cut a fifteen-point deficit down to just four points.  Senior Graciela Roybal led the balanced third quarter attack by hitting two big momentum-shifting three pointers, while senior Kayla Clark did her part by scoring and getting fouled with a minute left in the period two pull her team within six points at the time. 
 
The fourth quarter though belonged to senior Alyssa Alvarez who scored 9 of her 20 points in the period, and senior Emily Till who scored 6 of her 12 points, and gathered 4 of her 12 rebounds in the period to help to turn the comeback into a route.  
 
Said Rogers, "Having four seniors out on the floor for most of the second half really shows you how important experience is, but those three freshmen helped us navigate through a difficult, foul plagued first half.  Great team win."
 
GAME INFO