The Sunbirds trimmed a 10 point Academy of Art halftime lead to one-point with 6:49 remaining but were unable to get over the hump in their fourth straight loss.

"We did a great job on the boards and defending the three-point shot," said head coach Erin Scholz. "The game came down to missed free throws and too many turnovers. Otherwhise, we played an excellent basketball game."

Keairra White led the way with 18 points, five rebounds and four steals for Fresno Pacific (4-18, 4-11 PacWest) while Charde Stevens nearly notched a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Brandi Blackwell had nine points and seven rebounds and Callie Kloubec finished with eight points and six rebounds.

The Urban Knights (16-8, 9-5 PacWest) had three players in double figures, led by Ariel Dale with 17 off the bench. Jordan Rogers had 15 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

FPU trailed from start to finish in the loss thanks to a fast start by Art U that led to an early 8-2 lead. The Sunbirds led the lead get out to as many as 14 points in the first half before making their first run that brought the Urban Knight lead down to four with 3:45 remaining in the first half.

Academy of Art went on a 9-3 run in the final three minutes in a half where neither team shot the ball well. Eleven second-chance points by the Urban Knights gave them a 10 point halftime lead at 38-28.

Out of the break the Sunbirds quickly showed they were not going to go down without a fight as coach Scholz's squad came out on fire and went on a 9-2 run thanks to a perfect 4-4 start from the field. White and Brandi Blackwell led the way with five and four points respectively during the stretch.

The lead bounced back and forth for the Urban Knights after that point, but it never got back to double digits. The Sunbirds closed the lead to just one thanks to a layup by Keairra White before Art U went on a quick 7-0 run to get the lead back out to eight.

Academy of Art's final run proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Sunbirds who were unable to push back once more.

"We will continue to strive to finish our season well," said Scholz.

Fresno Pacific will head down to southern California to face Point Loma in San Diego next weekend. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 pm.