FRESNO, Calif. – Starting fast and utilizing their quality depth, the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (3-0 overall) cruised to a 73-51 win over the UC Merced Bobcats (0-3 overall) Tuesday night in the Special Events Center.

"We want to be the best version of our team every single day," head coach Tim Beauregard said. "That's the growth mindset that we have. There are certainly a lot of offensive and defensive vitamins that we'll have to take after this game where we were not at our best. I think there's a clear understanding of excitement to be 3-0 and finding ways to win, but also a real drive to know that these next few days, we need to get rested, we need to get locked in, and we need to be a substantially better version of ourselves come Friday and Saturday."

The Sunbirds got out to a quick 13-2 in the first 7:23 of the game, and they would go on to hold the Bobcats to just seven points in the quarter, taking a 21-7 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The second quarter opened with three straight baskets in the paint from Lydia Manu, Bre Hurt and Jenna Kurz, and the Sunbirds were able to take their largest lead of the half when Felicia Dourva hit a jump shot to make it 29-9 with 7:37 to go in the second period.

The FPU defense never allowed UC Merced to get within 14 points for the remainder of the half, and they took a 41-24 lead into the intermission.

The Sunbirds continued to pile on in the third quarter, going up by as many as 27 on two occasions due to buckets from Joleen Corona and Kurz, and a layup from Kurz gave FPU their largest lead of the game with 1:05 left in the quarter when they led by 29, a lead they would take into the final 10 minutes.

A quick basket from the Bobcats made it 64-37, but Julie Ramirez was able to get the 29-point FPU lead back with a pair of free throws.

Merced was able to get the game within 22 points, but a quick 7-0 lead from the Sunbirds, highlighted by a made 3-pointer from Manu made it 73-44 with 3:42 left in the contest.

The Bobcats would go on to close the game out on a 7-0 run, but the Sunbirds held on to the win to move to 3-0 on the year.

Kurz scored a team-high 15 points off the bench with four rebounds.

Dourva and Hurt each scored 10 points, and Hurt pulled down five boards. Maesyn Rix added seven rebounds and six points.

The Sunbirds will be back in action this weekend in the FPU Crossover. They're set to take on Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday at 5 p.m., with a matchup against San Francisco State slated for Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

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