Santa Clarita, CA. – In a tight, back and forth battle, the Lady Firestorm prevailed in their first conference road game of the season knocking off The Master's University 62-56.  The team was led in scoring by Alyssa Alvarez with 15 points and Halle Payne with 14 points.  On the defensive end though, it was Emily Till who broke her own previous record of 20 rebounds in a game, by recording 21 (15 on the defensive end), while also contributing 3 blocked shots to give with 8 points.
 
The Firestorm started fast by hitting five of their first sevens shots.  When freshman Taylor Schwab hit a three pointer at the 6:51 mark, ACU went ahead 11-4.  The Masters responded though with a 10-0 run over the next couple minutes, and briefly took a three-point lead.  But Till made a layup and Alvarez a three pointer, and they were able to enter the second quarter with a one point lead.
 
It was more of the same in the second quarter as the teams went back and forth receiving contributions from multiple players.  In the case of the Firestorm, it was Kayla Clark who showed up big scoring 5 points in the period while making 3 steals.  Clark was fouled on a rebound, and after making both free throws to put the Firestorm ahead by six points.  The Master's Allie Miller hit a jumper though just before the buzzer to bring the Firestorm lead down to four going into half time.
 
The third period saw both teams go ice cold.  Payne hit a jumper on the team's first possession of the third quarter, but they would not score again for over six minutes.  Meanwhile, the Mustangs were only a little bit more successful over that period in going on a 7-0 run to take one point lead.  Schwab ended the cold spell though with a jump shot, and after Alvarez went 1-2 from the foul line, Schwab scored again off an assist from Till, and despite scoring only seven points in the period, they entered the fourth quarter with a two-point lead.  Taking advantage of the cold shooting – Till grabbed 7 of her 21 rebounds in the third quarter alone.
 
The fourth quarter saw the Firestorm patiently pull away.  Both teams led in the period, but it was a Till jumper at the 2:14 mark followed by her record setting 21^st rebound which led to a Payne layup that put the Firestorm up by nine points with 1:24 to play.  The Master's called a time out, and after, the Firestorm iced the game on free throws.
 
Concluded Coach Rogers, "Our ladies really showed their maturity and determination tonight in a very difficult game.  Our defense was outstanding in the second half, and we were able to overcome a shaky offensive performance with poise and perseverance.  There were so many great individual accomplishments to go with tremendous team play.  Till had an incredible defensive game, and Schwab gave us a huge lift when the offense struggled.  Really fun to see the passion to succeed!"
 
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