FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno Pacific women's basketball battled former PacWest opponent CUI in its home opener Monday, but FPU came up short in a 70-62 decision. Despite tying the game at 30-30 by halftime, the Sunbirds were unable to overcome the Golden Eagles in the second half.
"It was a great first game of the season," mentioned head coach
Tim Beauregard, entering his 11th season. "It was physical, it was intense, and it was two pretty good teams battling all night. Kudos to Concordia for finding a way to hit some tough shots down the stretch."
The Sunbirds came out strong, scoring the first six points of the game behind early contributions from
Trinity Tolbert,
Alexa Perryman and
Sienna Evans. Evans led the way in the opening quarter with six points and five defensive rebounds as FPU shot 7-for-16 from the field. CUI closed the gap late, but the Sunbirds maintained a 16-15 lead entering the second.
After Concordia pulled ahead 28-23, Tolbert answered with a layup and free throw before Evans tied the game at 28-28 with a layup.
Emmi Almeida added a jumper with 20 seconds remaining to even the score once more, sending the teams into halftime tied at 30. FPU found success inside, scoring 10 of its 14 second-quarter points in the paint.
CUI built a 43-31 advantage in the third quarter before the Sunbirds found their rhythm inside. Evans scored four layups and added a free throw, while Perryman accounted for FPU's final five points of the period. The Golden Eagles outscored the Sunbirds 24-18 in the quarter, taking a 54-48 lead into the fourth.
FPU's defense kept the game within reach in the final period, holding CUI scoreless for nine consecutive possessions from 7:23 to 3:31. After an Eagles 3-pointer extended the lead to 60-50, Evans ended the Sunbirds' scoring drought with a 3-pointer at 4:14. She continued to cut into the deficit with a layup and free throw with 50 seconds remaining, bringing FPU within four at 63-59. CUI answered down the stretch to secure the 70-62 win.
"We certainly didn't do ourselves any favors with how we shot it tonight, but it was fun to watch our team stay together and play selfless basketball. We kept playing the right way, playing with pace, and creating great looks for each other. I know if we stay true to our principles, some of the same shots we missed tonight are going to win us quite a few games this year."
Evans led all Sunbirds with a career-high 30 points, surpassing her previous best of 29. She finished with 10 field goals, seven rebounds and four steals. Almeida pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, including five offensive boards, while adding four points. Tolbert contributed 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting and one steal, while Perryman added nine points on 4-for-6 shooting.
The Sunbirds move to 0-1 overall to open the season. "Tonight gave our team a real proof of concept for how we want to play on both ends of the floor. This group has a chance to do some really special things this year as we continue to grow together," said Beauregard. "We're going to keep chasing the best version of this team, and that starts with leaning into our togetherness as we dive into film and practice before a tough back-to-back this weekend."
NEXT UP: FPU will fly to Monmouth, Oregon to compete at the WOU Conference Crossover on Nov. 13th-14th. The 'Birds will face tournament host, Western Oregon, on Friday at 2pm, then take on Hawaii Hilo on Saturday at noon.
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