SEATTLE – The Fresno Pacific University women's basketball team officially opened the 2016-17 season on Friday, falling 90-39 to Seattle Pacific on the opening day of the Sodexo Tipoff Classic.
"We made some mental mistakes that we just couldn't afford against a good team. We are trying to solidify a team identity, and in this part of the season, we are just trying to get better," head coach
Tim Beauregard said. "We stayed unified and learned some things about ourselves tonight."
The Falcons controlled the game from the opening tip, with the first lead of the night coming after an Erica Pagano free throw. FPU's
Hannah Ramirez answered with a trey to put the Sunbirds on the board, but the FPU advantage was short-lived.
Bree Alvarez highlighted the effort for the Blue and Orange, going for 16 points to lead all scorers.
Hannah Ramirez hauled in a team-high seven rebounds, one more than her average from last season.
Four Falcons scored in double-figures, with Pagano pouring in a dozen to lead the way. SPU also shot an impressive 52.5% from the floor while knocking down 10 of 20 from beyond the arc.
The Sunbirds return to action on Saturday, when they take on Western Washington to wrap up the Classic. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. from Seattle's Brougham Pavilion.
"Western Washington is one of the best teams in the country and has more size than we do," Beauregard said. "They are going to provide an even bigger test than what we faced tonight, but we will welcome the opportunity to improve against another strong team."
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