BELMONT, Calif.-Relying on the formula that has propelled them over the last month, the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (13-13 overall, 8-11 PacWest) toppled the Academy of Art (7-18 overall, 7-12 PacWest) 73-62 in overtime Thursday night.
Fresno Pacific relied on its depth with scoring coming from both the lineup and the bench and held the advantage on the glass to limit the hosts to mostly one shot possessions, in order to secure its ninth win in the last 11 games.
"I was really impressed by our togetherness tonight," Fresno Pacific head coach
Tim Beauregard said. "We weathered a handful of storms and continued to play with good composure and effort."
Felicia Dourva replicated the spark of energy she brought a few weeks ago by stealing the opening tip and promptly hit a three. After Art responded with one of their own, Dourva hit a second three with both baskets being setup by
Rachel Berry.
Art hit a string of shots to take an 11-8 lead before
Bre Hurt got going with a pair of buckets.
Maesyn Rix added her first score to keep Fresno Pacific within one at 15-14 before the Academy of Art took the first timeout of the game with just under three minutes left in the quarter.
After the timeout, the Sunbirds earned a stop before
Julie Ramirez buried a three to give FPU the lead.
Ramirez knocked down another three for the only other field goal of the quarter and FPU held a 20-16 advantage at the end of one.
The Sunbirds would extend Art's stretch without a field goal for three minutes into the 2
nd quarter before a jumper halted FPU's run at 11-1 and saw the Sunbirds up 24-18 at its end.
Art's run came throughout the second quarter with the Urban Knights outscoring FPU 13-4 in the period before a late three by
Sara Lundqvist tied the game at 31 heading into halftime.
Dourva sparked FPU to start the 3
rd quarter by knocking down a three and batting a pass that Rix came up with the steal on. The Sunbirds jumped out in transition and found
Lydia Manu for a corner three, taking a quick 37-31 lead and forcing ArtU into an early timeout.
Lundqvist added another three and Ramirez scored inside to give FPU its largest lead at 10. The Urban Knights would trim the difference despite more buckets from Dourva.
Fresno Pacific started the fourth quarter with a 48-42 lead.
ArtU trimmed that difference to 48-47 before Fresno Pacific scored the next six points behind Dourva, Lundqvist and Rix.
Jenna Kurz added a bucket in the middle of a mini run for ArtU that tied the game at 56 with 2:09 to play.
Hurt scored quickly out of the timeout but the Urban Knights tied the game again at 58.
The teams exchanged stops with ArtU getting the ball and a timeout with 31 seconds remaining.
The Urban Knights attempted to wind the clock and get a shot near the rim but
Rachel Berry helped get the stop and Dourva snagged the rebound to allow the Sunbirds the chance to call a timeout with six seconds on the clock.
But the Urban Knights got the steal and the final shot of regulation that missed short, sending the game into overtime.
Lundqvist opened the extra frame with a three but the Urban Knights responded immediately.
Ramirez drove to the basket, on the next possession, spun through the lane while absorbing contact to lay-in the go-ahead bucket before completing the three-point play at the line.
A couple of possessions later, Rix found Lundqvist inside for a layup to push the lead to five.
Rix wound up with a steal on the next play, putting her at the line for two free throws and pushing the Fresno Pacific to seven.
Berry, despite all of her rebounds and assists on the evening, got her first two points of the game at the line in overtime and extended the Sunbirds' lead to 70-61 with less than a minute to play.
That would prove to be enough of a difference, as each team added two more points, to seal the final score.
"When we have sustained stretches of connectivity on defense and offense, we position ourselves very well for wins." Beauregard said. "Tonight, Academy of Art made some really key buckets down the stretch to force overtime and I was incredibly impressed with our resolve and willingness to empty the tank in that overtime session."
Dourva's solid night finished with a team-high 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Ramirez finished with 15 points and Lundqvist added 12.
Berry snatched a team-high 9 rebounds and Rix secured to 8 to help Fresno Pacific edge the hosts on the glass.
"We are excited to get home and honor our seniors on Saturday," Beauregard concluded.
The Sunbirds will conclude the regular season at home on Saturday against Holy Names. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. with senior day ceremonies for both the men and women taking at the conclusion of the women's game.
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