FRESNO, Calif. - The Sunbird women's basketball team made it two consecutive wins Tuesday night, upsetting #18 Azusa Pacific (9-7 GSAC/ 18-8 overall) 66-61 at FPU’s Special Event Center. Fresno Pacific fell to the nationally ranked Cougars 57-69 in their last meeting down in Azusa, but had three players score in double figures to help them go on to the affirming win.
“The effort our girls gave tonight was amazing,” applauded FPU head coach Meredith Pulliam. ”This was a big one for us. We played defense and hit some big shots down the stretch."
After getting off to a slow start and trailing throughout most of the first half, the Sunbirds were able to finally take the lead 27-25 with 1:08 left in the period off a Michele Rebozzi three-pointer, and ended the half ahead 29-25.
The Sunbirds continued to battle the Cougars throughout the entire second half and were able to significantly increase their shooting percentages to go on to the five point win.
Senior FPU guard Samantha Cardeno led the way for the orange and blue scoring a team high 17 points, and was strong in the paint with 9 rebounds. Fellow senior guard Bricali Cooley also contributed significantly going 6-8 from the field and scoring 14 points in the game. In addition, junior guard Jessica Mazza put up 13 points and grabbed 5 rebounds on the night.
With the win, the Sunbirds improve to 11-12 in GSAC play, and are 7-9 overall. FPU will be intent on building off this recent momentum in their next contest as they travel to face San Diego Christian Saturday February, 21st. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00PM.