Box Score
St. George, Utah-- After winning four straight the Sunbirds have dropped back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a month as they fell to Dixie State 75-67 in St. George, Utah.
Callie Kloubec led the Sunbirds in scoring for the second time this season with 18 points, a season high for Kloubec, and
Keairra White added 15 as the only two Sunbirds in double-digits.
FPU made a furious rally late in the second half and at one point went on an 8-0 run to cut what had been a 19-point lead to 11. But solid free throw shooting by the Red Storm never allowed the Sunbirds to get closer than eight in the final minutes.
"We lacked consistency in our offense tonight and it hurt us," said head coach Erin Scholz. "We actually got great things from our defensive game plan, but couldn't find a way to finish enough possessions."
Dixie State was led by leading scorer Johnna Brown who dropped 26 on FPU after scoring 17 in the first meeting between the two teams in Fresno on December 8. Brown also pulled down 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season.
The Sunbirds were battling early on with Dixie State at one point holding a slight lead with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game. The Red Storm proceeded to go on an 18-4 run over the next five minutes as Fresno Pacific missed eight consecutive shots from the field, part of a 25-percent shooting performance from the field in the first half.
Eleven first-half turnovers didn't help the Sunbird cause in a 15-point deficit at halftime.
The second half was tit-for-tat as both teams made small runs that were quickly reigned in by the other. With seven minutes remaining the Sunbirds, down 19, made an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 11 with just five minutes remaining. Dixie State was able to hit their free throws down the stretch and shut the door on a Fresno Pacific comeback with a pair of Jordan Giles free throws with 44 seconds remaining.
The Sunbirds will be back at home this weekend when they face Azusa Pacific in the Special Events Center at 2:30 pm.
