Fresno Pacific hung tough early but a dismal night from beyond the arc doomed the Sunbirds against #16 Grand Canyon as they fell 97-59.

The Sunbirds (0-9, 0-3), who were once again without junior Jenay Herring and senior Keri Stephanoff, started the game 1-9 from the field before hitting eight of their next 16 shots to climb back into the game at 27-20. The Antelopes (9-2, 3-0) then closed the half on a 20-7 run to open up the game at the break.

“It was a great test for us,” said head coach Erin Scholz. “We out rebounded them on the offensive glass and for us that was a big thing. There were areas we have been looking to see improvement and we saw some of that tonight.”

The one area FPU did not see the improvement they would have liked is in the field goal percentage. Freshman Charde Stevens led the way for the Sunbirds with 17 points and six rebounds on 7-16 shooting. Junior Keairra White came in averaging 22.1 points per game but was held to just seven points against one of the best defenses in the conference on 22.2-percent from the floor. FPU shot just 29-percent as a team, including just 10-percent from three, their second-lowest shooting percentage of the regular season. 

“There is nothing magical about getting out of a slump,” said Scholz. “Players just have to get in the gym and get extra shots and find a way to work through the mental part of it.”

Grand Canyon got a huge double-double from forward Judy Jones with 34 points and 10 rebounds and 14 points from reigning Conference Player of the Year Maylinn Smith in the decisive win.

The 'Lopes ended up with six players who scored at least eight points in their highest scoring output of the season, the previous high was 90 against Chaminade.

“We saw improvement and an increased commitment to what we are trying to do schematically on defense,” said Scholz. “We are still far away from where we want to be and when all five players aren't on the same page at the same time it is hard to find a rhythm on defense.”

The team's inability to knock down shots led to a lot of transition opportunities for Grand Canyon who outscored the Sunbirds 16-10 on the fast break.

Fresno Pacific head down to San Diego on December 19 for a showdown with Division I San Diego State before heading out for the Christmas break.