IRVINE, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific University women's basketball team came up short on Wednesday night, falling 66-57 on the road against the Concordia Eagles.

"It was a tough night for us from start to finish. We fought our way back in to the game at the end but it was too little, too late," head coach Tim Beauregard said. "Fundamental errors and lack of mental preparation got us tonight, but I'm still very optimistic for our future and the team that we have. I'm happy to embrace the fight with this group, and we have exactly what we need to succeed."
 
The Sunbirds controlled the opening tip, but Concordia's Judith Espinoza came away with the first bucket of the night. The Eagles began the game on an 11-4 run, helping them to carry a 36-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
FPU came out firing after the intermission, cutting the deficit to as few as four early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles forced their guests to play the foul game down the stretch, managing to escape their own gym with a PacWest Conference victory under their belts.
 
Bree Alvarez came off the bench to provide the Sunbirds with a spark, tallying 18 points to lead all scorers. Viviana Vasquez and Cassie Pisik went for 12 and 10 respectively, with the former collecting a team-best six rebounds.
 
The Blue and Orange won the turnover battle by a tally of 26-17 and connected on a 33% effort from behind the arc. Concordia proved to be the stronger team on the glass, however, hauling in 45 of the game's 67 rebounds.
 
Wednesday's game marked the third time in four games that three Sunbirds scored in double-figures, and the Sunbirds matched their best offensive total in a league contest so far this season.
 
Fresno Pacific is back in action on Saturday evening, when they take a break from conference play to take on NCAA Division-I Cal State Bakersfield. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. from CSUB's Icardo Center.