The Warriors led at halftime 30-25, but the Eagles of nineteenth-ranked Biola (16-9, 11-5 GSAC) posted 48 points in the second half to defeat Westmont Women’s Basketball 73-62 in La Mirada. Senior guard Jessica Case poured in 17 points and collected six rebounds for the Warriors in the Golden State Athletic Conference match-up. Senior point guard Amber Stevens scored 16 points, pulled down five boards, recorded six assists and tallied three steals for the Warriors who fell to 15-9 overall and 8-8 in conference play.
With the Warriors down 6-4 with 14:11 on the first-half clock, Case dropped a three-pointer through the hoop to kick off a 14-2 Warrior run. Senior post player Alisha Heglund (11 points, 6 rebounds), added a jumper before Case struck again from beyond the arc.
After a jumper by Biola’s Christina Barclay (18 points, 11 rebounds), freshman guard Larissa Hensley added her own three-pointer to the Warrior streak. Vanessa Farias, another freshman guard, added a fourth three-pointer to complete the run and give the Warriors an 18-8 lead with 10:53 to play in the opening frame.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, those were the only three-point shots the Warriors would make until Case sank one more just four seconds before the final buzzer. The Warriors shot 21.7% from three-point range (5 of 23) and 35.8% from the floor (24 of 67). The Eagles made 28 of their 60 attempts from the floor (46.7%) including 7 of 20 from three-point territory (35.0%). Biola also controlled the boards, tallying 47 rebounds compared to 29 for Westmont.
Biola started the second half on a 16-6 run in the first five minutes to take a 41-36 advantage. Four and one half minutes later, the Warriors had battled back to take a one-point lead (47-46) on a jumper by Kelsey Hardeman (4 points, 3 rebounds). But Westmont’s lead did not last long. Jessilyn Conicelli (20 points, 14 rebounds) scored on a jumper and Elise Paty nailed a three-pointer to put the Eagles back up 51-47 with 9:42 to play. The Eagles never trailed again.
In other GSAC games, #7 Azusa Pacific (22-4, 15-1 GSAC) defeated the visiting Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific 75-65 to retain sole possession of first place in the standings. The Cougars have a half-game lead over #3 Vanguard (18-2, 14-2 GSAC) who defeated San Diego Christian 93-62. Eighth-ranked Point Loma Nazarene (23-3, 14-3 GSAC) held on to third place in the GSAC standings with a 68-41 win over Concordia.
Biola stands in fourth place in the conference with a game and one-half lead over The Master’s (14-9, 9-6 GSAC) which was idle tonight.
Westmont, which is in sixth place, has assured itself a place in the upcoming GSAC Postseason Tournament which begins on March 3. However, their first round game will almost certainly be on the road. In order to secure a home game, the Warriors would have to win all four of their remaining games, Biola would have to lose all four of their remaining games, and The Master’s could win no more than two of their remaining five games.
The Warriors will host Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday night in Murchison Gymnasium. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
