HONOLULU, HAWAI'I. – After a long road trip on the Islands the Sunbirds closed out their trip at Chaminade hoping to get back to .500 overall and in PacWest play. The 'Birds did just that as they started out strong and managed to hold their momentum through four-quarters of play.

"The Hawaii leg of our league schedule is always tough. We are excited we're flying out with a win but know we have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be for this next stretch of league. We learned some great lessons on this trip and feel confident that with our next handful of practices we can mentally and physically get better to build a little momentum going forward. Proud of our team for staying together and battling for a positive finish to our trip," said head coach Tim Beauregard. 

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Fresno Pacific 78, Chaminade 67
Records: FPU (7-7, 4-4 PacWest), HPU (2-11, 2-5 PacWest)
Location: McCabe Gymnasium | Honolulu, Hawaii  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• FPU started out on a six-point run as Jessica Malazarte scored the first two-points of the game and then Cassie Pisik scored on back-to-back layups. Chaminade scored the last two points of the quarter and cut the 'Birds lead to eight-points.  
• The 'Birds carried their momentum into the third quarter and increased their lead to 13-points as Sara Lundqvist drained a three off of the assist from Pisik. Chaminade fought back however and cut Fresno's lead to nine-points to close out the first half.
• Fresno came out on fire after the break as they scored 10 unanswered points before Chaminade knocked down a three-pointer with six minutes left in the third quarter.  Ashley Cross nailed a jumper to close out the quarter and secure an 11-point lead over the Silverswords.
• The Silverswords matched the Sunbirds point-for-point in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, however FPU scored five unanswered points with and managed to close out the game.
 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
• Jessica Malazarte had a team high of 18-points while adding three assists for the Sunbirds.    
• Four other Sunbirds managed to score in the double-digits; Cassie Pisik (14), Ashley Cross (11),  Kate McClard (10) and Bayli McClard (10). 
• Bayli McClard and Cassie Pisik both recorded double-doubles as they pulled down 11 and 10 rebounds.
• FPU shot 50% from the field and 33.3 from behind the arc.    

SOCIAL:
• Twitter - @fpusunbirds
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds 
• Facebook - /FPUathletics
 
UP NEXT:
• Fresno Pacific will host Holy Names in their first home game of the 2020 season on January 11^th at 2:30 p.m. in the Special Events Center.