After a pair of mediocre fifth place finishes in the Golden State Athletic Conference the past two years, Biola women’s basketball needed an exposure of new faces and an injection of youth with hopes of obtaining a different finish this season.
New Head Coach
Alan Nakamura enters his first season as the Biola women’s basketball head coach, following the promotion of the previous coach, Bethany Miller, to co-athletic director. Nakamura was previously the assistant coach at former NAIA member Point Loma Nazarene University for 14 years.
“Nakamura plays with a balanced game on offense and defense which is unique from other coaches in the GSAC,” said Annie Park, senior guard.
Players to Keep an Eye On
Nakamura inherits a team comprised of three seniors including Park, but she still has one year of playing eligibility by redshirting this coming season. Park would have helped for the Eagles’ improving cause, as she was an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention last season, pacing the Eagles with 11.4 points scored per game. Park also finished first in the GSAC in three-point field goal percentage with 46 percent.
According to Park, one player to keep an eye on this season is sophomore guard DeMoria White, who has “stepped up as a strong leader despite being an underclassman, she has a lot to learn, but that will only happen with experience,” Park said. “DeMoria is such a physically strong player with a driven mindset.”
White is a talented player with high upside, which was evident in a home game against division favorite Vanguard University last year where she had a 17-point outburst. With Park sitting out the year, the Eagles will look to White to facilitate a lot of the offense’s production.
Welcoming New Members
Coach Nakamura is not the only one new to the team — Biola welcomes five freshmen. While serving as a way to rebuild the team, these freshmen add height that previous teams did not have. The five freshmen are an average of six-feet tall, which should result in more physical play in the paint for the Eagles this year.
The hope for the team this season is winning the GSAC, but it is essential to achieve team chemistry and bridge the experience gap between the seniors and freshmen. It is important because the Eagles do not only want to win now, but from now on with the young newcomers in the Biola basketball program.
Biola’s first game of the season is Oct. 28 at home against Bethesda College. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
