FRESNO, Calif.—The start of the women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon between host Fresno Pacific and visiting Hawai`i Hilo could not have begun any better for the Sunbirds and any worse for the Vulcans.

Fresno Pacific hit 5-of-7 three-pointers in the opening ten minutes and UH Hilo converted only one of its first 11 shots from the field to go a long ways towards settling this one before everyone was settled into their seats, with the home team leading 24-10 at the end of the first.

The Sunbirds would go on to post a final 70-51 verdict, improving to 6-4 in the Pacific West Conference and to 8-10 on the season. The Vulcans, playing their first of four straight road games in northern California, fell to 2-4 in conference play and 4-5 overall.

Cassie Pisik would finish with 18 points and nine rebounds for the Sunbirds. Bree Alvarez also had 18 points for the home team. Allie Navarette led the Vulcans with 15 points and six rebounds, while Alyssa Movchan recorded double figure numbers with 12 points.

Fresno Pacific jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 1:42 of the game before Navarette scored a little over two and a half minutes into the contest to get UHH on the board. But the Sunbirds would continue to apply the pressure from three-point range, racing out to a 22-4 lead before the ending the quarter with a 24-10 margin.

It was essentially all over except for the shouting at that point.

FPU increased their lead six more points heading into the halftime break, 38-18, without hitting another three-pointer. The two teams played evenly after that, with the hosts holding a 55-35 lead at the end of the third period before drawing in the final 19-point difference, 70-51.

After their frigid opening, the Vulcans warmed up a bit but still shot only 28 percent from the floor for the game. They hit six of 17 three-point attempts. The Sunbirds owned the backboards, out-rebounding UHH, 53-29. Safia Sheikh, UH Hilo's leading scorer on the season at 15.4 points a game, hit just one of nine shots on Saturday to finish with three points.

The Vulcans will have a short turnaround time, taking on Notre Dame de Namur on Monday at 5:30 p.m.  Pacific time (3:30 in Hawaii).