Women’s basketball played their first home game of the season against the undefeated Tarleton State University Texan Riders on Thursday. The Eagles trailed behind TSU at the start of the game, but worked to catch up as freshman guard Danita Estorga led the way with 14 points. The Eagles’ comeback bid fell short, however, as they dropped their third game of the season by a final score of 62-50.
The game took off quickly with the Texan Riders claiming an early lead, scoring 18 points, including 10 in the paint, to get ahead of Biola by nine points. The second quarter opened up with the Eagles falling further behind with TSU forcing several turnovers. Halftime came with the Eagles trailing behind, 30-14.
In the second half, the Eagles finally caught up to the Texan Riders with the help of Estorga’s 14 points and three steals.
“I think my points were… kind of like sparks that we needed to come back and pump everybody up,” Estorga said. “The goal for the next game is to just learn from this one, learn what we need to work on and just contribute it to the next game.”
In addition, sophomore forward Jazz Benn helped out by grabbing eight rebounds and 11 points in the game. Junior guard Tatum Brimley had a stellar game as well, with six turnovers and four assists.
The third quarter ended with the Eagles just four points behind TSU, 42-38. The final quarter began with Estorga hitting a layup, narrowing the Texan Riders lead to two points, 42-40. But then Biola fell short after several fouls allowed 11 free throw points to TSU, ending the game with an eventual final score of 62-50.
Head coach Alan Nakamura saw the game as good experience.
“So this was a wonderful challenge for us and I think we showed that against a mature, physical, aggressive team that we can play with them,” Nakamura said. “Our challenge is getting off to good starts in a sustaining level of play for the full 40 minutes.”
The loss moves the Eagles to 0-3, and they will look for a win in their fourth nonconference game at home against La Sierra University on Saturday at 7 p.m.
