Biola hosted the Notre Dame De Namur University women’s basketball team at Chase Gymnasium on Thursday evening. The Eagles came out with lots of energy and intensity and NDNU had plenty to match. Basket for basket, aggressive fouls and small one-point leads left the crowds on the edge of their seats throughout the night. The tension broke with a riveting victory of 42-33, attributed to Biola’s unbeatable defense.
Senior forward Mikayla Greens took charge and led the team with nine rebounds, 10 points and two blocks. Flowing offensively was sophomore guard Aysia Johnson with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Also joining the ten-point club for tonight’s game was freshman guard Stephanie Lee with 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
HANGING BY A THREAD
The first quarter started with a successful tip-off won by freshman forward Madi Chang, who got the energy rolling. Despite the athleticism and intensity displayed by the Eagles, NDNU was a presence on the court. Throughout the game, both teams got stops, ran the shot clock and played aggressive man-to-man defense. NDNU inched out a one-point lead to end the quarter 9-10.
Entering the second quarter, Biola immediately regained control on the court with a rebound by Greens, followed by a block to pick up the momentum, contributing to the team’s passing and communication during their full-court press. Senior guard Jelissa Pucket put Biola up 16-12 at the half.
“Notre Dame De Namur is an outstanding team, their record isn’t reflective,” said head coach Alan Nakamura. “Anyone who watched the game tonight saw that they are really tough, disciplined, fundamental, have good quickness and play really hard the whole game.”
DRIVE, BUCKET, BOARD
Coming into the third quarter, Biola had their system down like it was lock and key. Switching to a zone defense, the Eagles were able to open up more opportunities to steal and drive to the basket, resulting in a six-point lead to end the quarter. By the last quarter, the Eagles were starting to get stuck by NDNU’s defense. As Biola struggled, NDNU found the opportunity to make a fast comeback about five minutes into the quarter, bringing them down to only four points behind. Everyone was on their feet, yelling, clapping, heckling in order to create a chaotic atmosphere. This didn’t phase the Eagles as they continued to persevere and ended the night with a victory of 42-33.
“I think we stuck to our game plan even though it wasn’t the prettiest sight in the beginning,” Greens said. “We just committed to our defense that we were going over, full-court press and man-to-man. I think it worked really well for us and offensively we knew to get it in and then pass it out for some good threes.”
The Eagles (12-6 overall, 8-4 PacWest) will play against Dominican University of California at Chase Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.
