HILO, Hawaii – The Fresno Pacific University women's basketball team fell on Thursday night, falling 62-54 to Hawai'i Hilo on the road.

"The hardest part of transforming this program is learning how to win. We have been consistently close for stretches of every game. It will take a concerted effort and every person in our program moving in the same direction for us to learn how to win close games," head coach Tim Beauregard said. "I have to be better, players have to better, we have to be better. We are facing in the right direction, so we must strain to pull this bus forward." 
 
The Sunbirds connected on 36% of their shots from the floor in the first half, highlighted by Bree Alvarez' nine points and Viviana Vasquez' eight rebounds. Sydney Mercer shot 5-of-6 through the first two minutes, racking up 12 points to help the Vulcans carry a 32-25 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
 
FPU opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run, capped by an Alvarez three that gave the Blue and Orange their first lead in almost 20 minutes. Seven Sunbirds found the bottom of the net in the second half to play their hosts within a point for the half, but UHH knocked down a trio of threes to pull away late.
 
Alvarez finished with a team-high 18 points, marking the fourth consecutive game and 12th time this season that she has led the Sunbirds in scoring. Cassie Pisik finished in double-figures for the fourth straight time, as well, while Vasquez (9) and Hannah Ramirez (8) combined for 17 rebounds.
 
For Hawai'i Hilo, Mercer ended the night as the game's leading scorer, scoring 22 points and rounding out her double-double with ten boards. Kim Schmelz added 14 points, while Asia Smith collected a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Fresno Pacific returns to action on Saturday, when they take on Hawai'i Pacific in the second of their three games in Hawaii this year. Tipoff from Honolulu is slated for 3:00 p.m. PST.