STOCKTON, Calif. – Fresno Pacific couldn't overcome a slow start against Santa Clara Friday, as the seventh-seeded Sunbirds fell to the sixth-seeded Broncos 14-8 at the GCC Championships.

FPU concludes its season at 7-24 overall following the loss, while the Broncos move to 15-14 overall. SCU will play in the fifth-place game tomorrow against fourth-seeded Azusa Pacific.

The Broncos took control of the game early and built a 6-1 halftime lead. FPU found its offense in the second half with seven scores, but SCU found the back of the cage eight times to secure the 14-8 win.

Emily Woodruff and Kaeli Hanson had two scores apiece for the Sunbirds, while Mallory Rettig, Alyssa Stevens, Julia Ponce and Bree Stevens rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece. FPU had seven players dish out an assist on the eight scores.

Courtney Hall tallied 10 saves and three steals in the cage for the Sunbird defense. Rettig and Hanson tallied two thefts apiece. Senior Kelsie Harvey was scratched before the opening whistle due to injury.

"I'm very proud of our women this season," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "This best way to sum up our year is Galatians 6:9. I'm proud of this group for continuing to not get tired of doing good. We have grown so much and improved each week. Even when we lost Emily (Marr) last week and Kelsie today, we still rallied together and fought hard against the odds. Our seniors led the charge and our underclassmen received valuable minutes. I'm excited about the future of our program and the direction we are going."

The Sunbirds graduate Samantha Clark, Stevens, Rettig and Harvey, but return a solid class next season. Harvey closes out her career as the program's all-time leader in saves (1,128) and steals (176), while Rettig ranks ninth all-time in goals (70), sixth all-time in assists (59) and fourth all-time in steals (138).