After a non-conference victory at home last week, this week’s wild sports Tuesday included the women’s basketball team versus the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific University. Regardless of crowd size, the women went to work and did not disappoint.
Home court advantage was a key for success in the women’s first GSAC game. The Eagles came out aggressively, gaining an impressive 68 to 46 win.
“It’s great being at home” said senior Elise Paty. “It’s good knowing your routines and of course having a fan base.”
Biola outscored and outhustled their opponent throughout the game. Even though both teams applied solid defensive pressure, the Sunbirds missed several high percentage shots.
Biola finished the first half with 37 points while Fresno finished with 19. The second half was similar as Biola took control 31 to 27.
“We attacked the basket and had a lot of key communication,” said Paty.
Top scorers for Biola were sophomore Charrise Reece and junior Jennifer French. They combined for a total of 36 points and equally shared 18. Another noteworthy performance was by junior Jessilyn Conicelli who shot 5 of 10 in the game and 4 of 5 from the free throw line given her 14 points.
Overall, the Biola team held a slight advantage over a weaker Sunbirds team. However, Fresno use fast breaks as often as they could to cut down on Biola’s tough defense.
Another key to success was the Eagles zone defense, which effectively stopped most of the penetration. Fresno’s offense only saw two players in the double digits. Sophomore Keri Stephanoff had 20 points and junior Jessica Torrecillas had 11.
Fresno continues to struggle with points in the paint and turnovers. Their record of 1-5 in season and 0-1 in GSAC shows that there are many tough games ahead of them. For Biola things are looking brighter as they enter into December looking to gain their third consecutive win.
The Eagles record improves to 2-3 in season and 1-0 in GSAC play. Their next game will be away in Costa Mesa against Vanguard University. Although Biola will have the home court advantage taken away this time, players are still optimistic.
“Vanguard is ranked number two, so we’re excited,” said Paty. “My role [for the next game] is to lead by example, and I am keeping my focus on that role.”
