FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific women's basketball team rallied in the second half on Sunday against Academy of Art, but ultimately fell short 69-67 in overtime after Felicia Dourva was able to knock down two free throws with a little over one second to go to force the game into extra time.
 
QUOTABLE
 
"As we've had happened a handful of times throughout the year, we'll look at that first quarter and wish we could have been a little bit more settled to start the game. I've got to figure out a way to better prepare our team to find calm confidence early in games. I'm glad we fought back and forced overtime, but we'll desperately want 10 or 15 possessions back that could have put us in the driver seat a lot earlier. We definitely showed our tiredness both mentally and physically to start the game and it simply took us too long to wake up and fight. Backs really against the wall now. Doesn't get much simpler than win or go home. We'll aim to start this next game with a level of urgency and togetherness that can be sustained for the duration." – head coach Tim Beauregard
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was all Knights from the jump to start the game, opening the contest up on a 10-0 run.
• Dourva was able to get the Sunbirds on the board with just over six minutes to go in the quarter to halt the Art run.
• After a scoreless stretch of about three minutes, Joleen Corona was able to cut the Art lead to six after a floater in the middle of the lane.
• The two teams traded free throws, but a Julie Ramirez layup with 1:21 to go in the period capped off a 7-3 run by the Sunbirds, and the game went into the second quarter at 13-7.
• The Sunbirds added to their run to start the second quarter thanks to a layup from Breanna Hurt just 12 seconds into the period.
• A quick 5-0 run by the Knights stretched their lead to nine, and a layup from Art gave them a 21-11 lead with 5:45 to go in the half.
• FPU was able to pick up steam and close out the half on a 14-9 run, highlighted by two free throws from Anisa Rillo with just one second to go to make it a five-point contest at the break.
• The second half got off to a slower start, but after a free throw by Art, Sara Lundqvist was able to knock down a jumper to cut the deficit to four points with 8:05 to go in the quarter.
• A Ramirez layup with 6:43 left made it a two-point game, but Art answered right back on the ensuing possession to get their lead back to four.
• After some more back and forth, and with the Knights up seven, Dourva ignited an 8-0 run to give the Sunbirds their first lead of the contest. It started with a 3-pointer with 3:35 to go in the quarter to make the score 40-36.
• Dourva followed that with a second 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, and she gave the Sunbirds a 41-40 lead with 2:21 to go in the quarter with a jumper.
• Art, though, quickly took the lead right back and held a four-point advantage heading into the final period.
• FPU opened the fourth quarter with a Dourva layup to cut the Art lead down to two, followed by a Hurt layup that tied the game at 47.
• Hurt regained the lead for FPU with 8:18 to go in regulation after going 1-for-2 at the charity stripe, but after nearly two minutes of no scoring, the Knights were able to take it right back with 6:30 to go.
• A 6-0 run from Art extended their led to five, but Hurt was able to knock down a jumper with 4:24 to go to make it a three-point game.
• Art earned a trip to the free throw line, where they went 1-for-2 to go up by four, but Dourva made a nice feed to Maesyn Rix under the basket who laid it in to cut the deficit to two with 3:01 to go.
• Art was able to hover around a two-to-four-point lead until with 22 seconds left, Hurt made a layup to make it a one-point game.
• FPU fouled, and Art went 1-for-2 at the line again to give them a 61-59 lead with 10 seconds to go.
• The Sunbirds inbounded, and Dourva rushed up the right side of the floor. She was able to draw a foul with a little less than two seconds remaining and knock down both free throws to send the game to overtime.
• In overtime, Art took a 63-61 lead just over 30 seconds into the period.
• After a miss on the next possession, Hurt knocked down a jumper with 3:35 to go to tie the game at 63.
• Art went 1-for-2 from the line again just a minute later to take a one-point lead, but the Sunbirds answered on the next possession with a Lundqvist layup to make it 65-64 with 2:23 to go.
• The Knights were able to tie it up with 1:51 to go after a free throw, but after an FPU miss on the other end, they were able to take a two-point lead with 29 seconds left.
• Aftter a Sunbird foul, Art went 1-for-2 from the line again to take a three-point lead with 23 seconds to go.
• A layup by Rix on the other end cut it to just one point with 12 seconds left, and Art was able to knock down one of two free throws at the other end to go up 69-67 with 10 seconds to go.
• Dourva was able to get a look at the other end as time expired but was unable to connect.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME

• Dourva scored a team-high 16 points along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Lundqvist had a double-double in the game, scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
• Hurt nearly finished with a double-double off the bench with 13 points and eight rebounds.
• Rix had a strong game on the boards, getting 10 rebounds and adding eight points.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Blue and Orange will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Hawaii Pacific. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
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