BELMONT, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific women's basketball team opened PacWest Conference play on Thursday night, falling 86-82 to Notre Dame de Namur on the road.    
 
QUOTABLE:
• "The deciding point of this game came in the fourth quarter. We lost our composure for about four minutes and never recovered. This was another great performance by us, only to misstep at the end when it mattered most. Everybody in our program has to be better for us to win close games. We will immediately shift our focus on Holy Names and fight to get a split on this road trip." – head coach Tim Beauregard
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: NDNU 86, FPU 82
Records: NDNU (3-4, 1-0 PacWest), FPU (2-6, 0-1 PacWest)
Location: Walter Gleason Gymnasium | Belmont, Calif.  
All-Time Series: FPU leads 12-5
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Argos controlled the opening tip, and Lindsay Bates provided the first bucket of the night.  
• An Ayla Faber layup gave Fresno Pacific its first of the game, and seven different Sunbirds found the bottom of the net in the first quarter.
• Marissa Caballero's 15 first half points put the Argos back in the driver's seat, as NDNU carried a 43-37 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
• The Sunbirds opened the second half on a 16-6 run to jump out to their biggest lead of the night, but Aubrey Mendonca went for 17 points in the final 20 minutes to help NDNU pull out the victory.
 
STATS OF THE GAME:
• Landynn Munster posted a career-high 25 points to lead all scorers, while Megan Lee and Jessica Malazarte followed with 19 and 17 respectively.
• For NDNU, Caballero and Mendonca combined for 45 points while connecting on a trio of threes apiece.
• Cassie Pisik hauled in a game-high ten rebounds, helping the Sunbirds eclipse 45 rebounds in a game for the second time this year.  
 
BEYOND THE BOX:
• FPU connected on ten three-pointers as a team, marking a new season-best.
• The Sunbirds collected 45 rebounds in a game for the second time, landing just three shy of their season-best set against San Francisco State last weekend.
 
UP NEXT:
• The Sunbirds return to action on Saturday, when they take on Holy Names in another PacWest Conference showdown. Tipoff from Oakland's Tobin Gymnasium is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.