It goes to show that a team can never be counted out. Two weeks ago, the Lady Eagles were 1-12 in conference play. But with their win Tuesday night in Fresno against the last place Sunbirds, Biola clinched the eighth and final spot in the conference playoffs.
“We’re really excited,” said junior forward Summer Matthews, before scoring 13 points and pulling down four rebounds in the win over Fresno Pacific Tuesday night. “We’re focused, and we feel we’re playing at the level that we knew we could play at.”
Junior forward Megann Alberts led the way for the Eagles again posting her ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 boards.
“It confirms our beliefs that we’re a good team,” Alberts said. “When we stick to the game plan and we play how we practice, we prove that we’re supposed to be a winning team.”
Despite Biola leading by as many as 11 points early in the second half, the game stayed close with six lead changes, including a tie game with just 21 seconds to go.
Right after the game tied, however, senior guard Mandi England went to the line on the ensuing Biola possession and knocked down a clutch free throw, which ended up deciding the game, as the Sunbirds could not connect on the other end.
The win is Biola’s fifth consecutive in conference and avenges the home loss to the Sunbirds back in January. The victory also comes on the heels of the Lady Eagles’ 14-point victory over Concordia, who was officially eliminated from the playoffs Tuesday night.
As it stands now, the Eagles would play the top-seeded Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions in the first round.Yet even with their opponent seemingly decided, the Eagles still have Vanguard and Azusa Pacific, the number two and three teams respectively, left to play in the regular season.
And that has them focused.
“We’re really excited to play Vanguard,” Alberts said. “We think it’s going to be a good game. We approach these last two like any other games. Every game is important and is a chance to improve.”
On the men’s side, with every team jockeying for position coming down the stretch, there seems to be no clear cut victor just yet. Saturday night Biola was reminded how dominant the conference leading Concordia Eagles are, as the men fell 73-56.
The Sunbirds also spoiled Tuesday’s trip to Fresno, holding off Biola 63-58.
Despite dropping recent contests to teams directly above them, Biola’s ability in the second half of the season to beat some of the top ranked teams has them in control of their own destiny.
Like the women, two home games remain against Vanguard and Azusa Pacific, two of the top teams in the nation.
However, Biola beat Vanguard back in January, and although Azusa currently owns a winning streak over the Eagles, Biola has proven with victories over California Baptist and Point Loma that anything can happen — especially in the biggest rivalry in the NAIA.
