FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific women's basketball team picked up an 85-67 victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating Holy Names in the final game of the regular season. The Sunbirds improve to 19-9 with the win and recognized seniors Ryanne Luchau, Bree Alvarez, Barbara Keomany and Julia Locastro following the game.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Fresno Pacific 85, Holy Names 65
Records: FPU (19-9, 15-7 PacWest), HNU (3-25, 3-19)
Location: Special Events Center | Fresno, Calif.        
Series: FPU leads 21-10 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Hawks controlled the opening tip, but a Locastro block helped the Sunbirds come away with the first bucket of the game.     
• HNU took a seven-point lead in the early going, but FPU wrapped up the first quarter on a 9-3 run to tie the game.
• Holy Names turned in their strongest quarter of the night in the second, carrying a five-point lead into the intermission.
• The Sunbirds exploded after halftime, outscoring the Hawks 29-14 in the third quarter before almost duplicating the feat in the fourth.  
 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
• Alvarez led all scorers in her final career home game, sinking six threes to rack up 26 points.
• Cassie Pisik followed with 20 points of her own, while Jessica Malazarte and Rachel Berry turned in 14 and 10 respectively.
• Onjalise Carley-Hill connected on 8-of-12 from the floor to pace the Hawks with 24 points, with point guard Ariana Hernandez totaling 16.
• FPU made nine threes in the second half to pull away, including a 5-of-8 effort from Alvarez.
• HNU claimed a 55-44 advantage on the glass, but the Sunbirds won the turnover battle by a margin of 21-9.
 
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Alvarez has led the team in scoring in each of the last three games and 12 times this season.
• The Sunbirds have won 19 games for the first time since the 2006-07 season. 
 
SOCIAL:
• Twitter - @fpusunbirds
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds 
• Facebook - /FPUathletics
 
UP NEXT:
• FPU is back in action next Thursday, when they take on Point Loma in the first round of the PacWest Conference Tournament. The Sunbirds will be appearing for the first time in program history, with tipoff from San Rafael's Conlan Center set for 7:15 p.m.