ST. GEORGE, Utah - Fresno Pacific was unable to overcome a long road trip and a tough Dixie State team on its home floor, falling 79-71 in PacWest action on Saturday.
Charde Stevens had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead FPU.
Jenay Herring added 13 points,
Jasmine Shedrick had 12 and
Megan Lee finished with 10 points off the bench.
"I'm proud of the way we never quit," said head coach
Lindsey Wilson. "We have a lot of fight. We still have to figure out how to start the game well and play with energy and emotion for 40 minutes."
The Sunbirds (1-6, 1-2 PacWest) got off to a slow start, falling behind 24-9 after the first eight minutes before a
Dakota McLarnan three-pointer stopped the run. DSU would lead 39-26 at halftime. FPU would trail by as many as 21 in the second half but a 9-0 run cut the deficit to 57-45 with 10 minutes remaining. The Sunbirds would continue to chip away at the lead down the stretch, but were unable to get any closer than eight.
FPU out-rebounded the Red Storm 41-35 but were out-shot 51% to 36%. The Sunbirds shot 86% from the free-throw line (19-of-22) in the loss.
Leslie Tademy had 18 points to lead DSU (3-4, 2-1 PacWest), which had all five starters finish in double figures.
FPU returns home to host Bethesda in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.
