FRESNO, Calif. – Just like a good home owner, the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (4-1) took care of the glass and the paint in their 73-55 home opening win over the UC Merced Bobcats Tuesday night in the Special Events Center.

Fresno Pacific recieved a double-double from Maesyn Rix with 12 points and 12 rebounds while fellow forward Jayla Green was three points shy of her own with 7 points and 12 boards to help the Sunbirds outrebound their guests 52-30 Tuesday night.
 
The Sunbirds and the Bobcats jumped out to a hot offensive start early.
 
For the Sunbirds, the first points featured layups from Julie Ramirez and a pair from Maesyn Rix.
 
At 6-5, the 'Birds hit back-back threes from Felicia Douvra and Joleen Corona with a layup from Anisa Rillo to go up 14-5 with five minutes left in the first quarter.
 
The offense continue to click with a trio of layups with a pair from Ramirez and one from Jasmine Heu to expand their lead by eleven.
 
The first quarter came to an end with the Sunbirds outscoring the Bobcats in the final minutes five points to four, 25-13.
 
Fresno Pacific opened the second quarter scoring eight answered behind free-throws from Olivia Garcia, and layups from Rix, Aaliyah Seuell, and Rillo to go up 33-13.
 
The Sunbirds kept the offensive momentum for the rest of the second quarter.
 
Layups from Lydia Manu and Ramirez along with free-throws from Ramirez allowed the Sunbirds to take a twenty-point lead 41-21 into the half.
 
The Sunbirds and the Bobcats started the third quarter trading possessions and points.
 
A three from Heu and a pair of layups for Rix marked the early points for the 'Birds.
 
The offense continued to roll for Fresno Pacific as UC Merced failed to catch up.
 
Layups from Jayla Green, Rix, and Manu marked the end of the third quarter with the 'Birds taking their largest lead of the game so far by 22 points, 54-32.
 
The fourth continued with the Bobcats trying to play catch up to the 'Birds as they added to their point total.
 
With less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter the Sunbirds went on another offensive run scoring eleven of the next thirteen points featuring a pair of layups from Green and Manu and free-throws from Rillo and Manu to go up 70-38.
 
The Bobcats created a run of their own scoring fourteen points unanswered to bring the score back 70-52 with less than one minute left in the fourth quarter.
 
The quarter ended with a free-throw and layup from Heu and a three from the Bobcats as time expired to end the game 73-55 for the 'Birds.
 
"Definitely wasn't our best performance in the second half but I'm proud of our team for finding a way to get the win" said Head Coach Tim Beauregard.
 
Rix recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points, 12 rebound, and a block to lead all Sunbird scorers.

After shooting nearly 70% in the opening quarter, FPU rode behind a +25 margin on the glass to overcome 18 turnovers and a 30% field goal percentage in the middle quarters.

"The last couple of games Coach has made a point that these are identity games., Rix said of the overall performance. "Defensively, we didn't execute very well. There were some missing pieces but we are just resetting and finding that connectivity."

 Off the bench, Manu recorded a season-high 10 points going 4-5 from the floor and 2-4 from the line with two offensive rebounds.
 
Eleven different Sunbirds contributed points to tonight's win, with three in double-digits.
 
Proving to be pivotal on the defensive side of the ball, Green recorded a season high 12 rebounds with 2 blocks.

"We have people that are willing to step up," Rix said of the teams resiliancy. "And we have a bunch of malleable girls that are willing to step in  and do what it takes to win."

 "We all know we can individually and collectively be a little bit better and that's what we will aim to do" added Beauregard. "Before we get back to work though, we will enjoy some time with our families and be thankful for our team and the incredible people that we all get to spend time with each and every day."
 
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