FRESNO, Calif. – After a mix of cancelations and postponements put their season on hold, the Fresno Pacific University women's basketball team competed for the first time in 32 days, hosting Holy Names. The Sunbirds defeated the Hawks 61-44.

QUOTABLE

"Tonight was so fun. It's been a choppy two years, so I think I'm just to the point where when that ball tips at center court, we're blessed. It was a ton of fun. It was a long drought in between games with five cancellations, so we were geared up and ready to play a couple of times, but we got it taken away from us. So we didn't take it for granted tonight, and we enjoyed getting out there with each other and competing." – head coach Tim Beauregard

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rachel Berry opened the scoring with a layup for the Sunbirds a minute into the game. 
• Sara Lundqvist splashed home a 3-pointer, closing out a 7-2 run that lasted the first three minutes of the game. 
• Julie Ramirez got to the rim for a layup to put the Birds up 12-6 with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter. 
• The Sunbirds closed out the second quarter with a 9-4, putting them up 28-19 at halftime.  
• FPU carried the momentum into the second half, as Bre Hurt sparked an 11-2 run to open the third quarter. 
• The Blue and Orange dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks 17-6. 
• In the fourth quarter, the stifling Sunbirds defense held HNU to just 35-percent shooting from the field, and a mere 25.8 percent for the contest.
• In the contest, FPU forced 20 turnovers, scoring 11 points off those turnovers.

• The Blue and Orange outscored the Hawks 40-24 in the paint.
• Berry pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds in the win to go along with five points and two assists.
• Lundqvist led all scorers with 11 points.
• Hurt scored 10 points and pulled down four rebounds.
• Lydia Manu filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds, six points, four assists and four steals.

BEYOND THE BOX

• Berry's 13 rebounds in the win was a season-high for the redshirt sophomore.
• The Sunbirds defense only surrendered 44 points, their lowest total since giving up 46 points to Hawai'i Hilo on January 18, 2020.

UP NEXT

• The Blue and Orange hit the court on Saturday at 2 p.m. as they host #19 Azusa Pacific. No fans are admitted during the month of January., however, links are provided to follow the game live on FPUAthletics.com 

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