Box Score Fresno Pacific was unable to control the Hawaii Pacific offensive attack as the Sunbirds dropped a 71-55 decision to the Sea Warriors in Honolulu.

Keairra White scored a team-high 14 points for a Sunbird squad that struggled to find an offensive rhythm shooting just 37-percent from the field. It was the first time FPU (10-14, 10-8 PacWest) shot under 40-percent on the road since January 13 against Dixie State in Utah. Jenay Herring added 10 points and Jazmine Simpson finished with nine points.

"We just were not knocking down shots," said head coach Lindsey Wilson. "We got good looks, but we were not able to capitalize on the looks they gave us."

The Sunbirds were locked in on the defensive end to start the game holding the Sea Warriors (16-9, 12-7 PacWest) to just eight points through the first eight minutes of the game. But, a lackluster shooting performance to open the game prevented Fresno Pacific from putting together a lead in the first half.

HPU built a 10-point lead with under 30-seconds remaining in the half, but an acrobatic layup by White sent the Sunbirds into the half down by single digits.
The Sea Warriors continued to push the pace out of the break and started the second half on a 13-5 run to put the game out of reach for the Sunbirds with 15:41 remaining. The lead never dipped back below double digits, as FPU was unable to find an answer for Ieva Nagy who scored 11 of her 15 in the second half.

"We were in the wrong spots throughout that run to start the second half," said Wilson. "We were in the wrong spot on defense and we gave up an offensive board. We were in the wrong spot on offense and we missed open shots. "

Hawaii Pacific got double-digit performances from four different players including leading scorer Skye Savini who led all players with 18 points.

With the loss the Sunbirds are now out of contention for the NCCAA West Region playoffs falling out of the three-way tie for third-place in the conference with just two games remaining.

"We have had so much growth this past year, but it's disappointing not to be rewarded with a trip to the post-season," said Wilson. "We are still really excited with everything we have done this year, and we still have to stay focused in our last two games."

Fresno Pacific does have a chance to secure its first winning conference season since 2002 with a win in their next game against Hawaii Hilo on Thursday at 8 p.m.