FRESNO, Calif. – The FPU women's basketball team (3-1) got the FPU Crossover Classic started on Saturday in a 64-63 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay (3-0) in a tough, physical matchup that came down to the final second.

"We took 75 shots, and I think they took 50. We got a lot of good looks, even without a ton of free throws," assistant coach Santino Reynolds said. "But I didn't think we did a good enough job trying to score the ball in the paint. Taking 75 shots, I think we'll win a lot of games if we get that many looks. We just have to do a better job scoring the ball."

The two teams traded baskets early, but the Sunbirds were able to take a 12-11 lead in the first quarter thanks to a layup from Julie Ramirez, and they held that lead for the remainder of the quarter, extending it to nine points after a Bre Hurt layup went in with 26 seconds to go in the quarter.

The Sunbirds continued to dominate offensively in the second quarter, securing their first double-digit lead with 8:06 left in the first half thanks to a 3-pointer from Felicia Dourva.

The Otters were able to cut it back to single digits a couple more times before Lydia Manu knocked down one from behind the arc to make it 30-19 with 6:29 left in the first half.

That would spark a quick run by FPU that resulted in their largest lead of the half at 14 points thanks to a jumper from Rachel Berry. Monterey Bay battled back, but the Sunbirds were stingy enough to keep their lead at double digits. Another jumper from Berry got the lead back to 14 with 1:50 left. The Otters converted on a free throw with 59 seconds to go in the half to make it 41-28, and the Sunbirds would take that lead into the break.

The third quarter saw the Sunbirds take their largest lead of the game after a 3-pointer from Dourva to open the half, followed by a jumper from Jenna Kurz put FPU up 46-28 with 7:40 left in the period.

The two teams traded buckets for the next minute before the Otters got out to a run down 17. They outscored the Sunbirds 15-5 in the final 6:49 of the quarter, and the FPU lead was only seven points heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

The physicality picked up in the fourth quarter, with the Sunbirds putting the Otters in the bonus with just under five minutes to go in the game. Two free throws from the Otters with 4:42 remaining made it a three-point game before a free throw from Berry and a layup from Kurz extended the FPU lead to six with 2:58 left.

Two more free throws from Monterey Bay made it a four-point game, and after a missed shot at the other end, they were able to cut it to just two points on a jumper with 1:53 to go.

The Otters tied the game on a layup with 58 seconds to go, and a made free throw with 35 seconds to go gave them their first lead since the opening period.

The Sunbirds had a pair of looks with 23 and 18 seconds to go that didn't fall, and after a foul and two missed free throws from the Otters happened with 12 seconds to go, FPU was able to get another look. A missed 3-pointer went out of bounds off of Monterey Bay with one second left, and after a timeout, the Sunbirds tried to lob one up to Kurz, but it was deflected as time expired.

Berry put up a strong game, recording a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. She also added three assists to her tally.

Kurz scored 16 points in her first career start. Dourva, Hurt and Joleen Corona each had six points. Maesyn Rix matched Berry with 11 rebounds of her own.

The Sunbirds will close out the Crossover Classic on Saturday with a matchup against San Francisco State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Special Events Center.

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