Women’s basketball loses to No. 1 in PacWest conference

The Eagles battled Hawaii Pacific University but lost 72-60.

Zachary Devane, Deputy Sports Editor • February 15, 2020

Sophomore guard Aysia Johnson gets ready to shoot the ball to the basket.

Photo courtesy of Andres Ramirez // THE CHIMES

Women’s basketball played against the top seed in the PacWest conference, Hawaii Pacific University, on Saturday, Feb. 15. Despite making runs throughout the second half, the Eagles were unable to come back from a poor start. Junior forward Jazz Benn led the team with 27 points on 50% shooting from deep, while also grabbing six rebounds.

TOUGH START

The Eagles shot an extremely low 28% in the first half. Many of their attempts were from behind the arc, where they chucked up 17 shots and only made three. On the other hand, HPU nailed 51% of their shots and were 9-9 from the free-throw line. By halftime, the Sharks had a 39-25 lead.

“We were just inconsistent in our transition defense, we were a little inconsistent in our decision making on offense,” said head coach Alan Nakamura. “But I’m proud of the way the team banded together, they competed really hard and they really tried to be there for each other.”

WINNING MENTALITY

The Eagles fought in the second half, chopping the lead down to 11 by the end of the third quarter. They kept it close down the stretch, however, HPU’s senior guard Starr Rivera knocked down a jump shot with 2:51 left in the game to seal it. The Eagles would go on to lose 72-60.

Sophomore guard Aysia Johnson also did well, scoring seven points and adding five rebounds, while senior guard Tatum Brimley had 10 points and five assists.

There are only three more games on the regular season schedule for women’s basketball.

“We just clinched [a spot] in the PacWest tournament, so I think that’s gonna be motivating for us,” Benn said.

The Eagles (12-7 PacWest, 16-9 overall) will be back at Chase Gymnasium to face Holy Names University on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 12 p.m.

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About the Contributor

Zachary Devane, Deputy Sports Editor

Zach Devane is a sophomore journalism major from Indio, California. He loves Jesus, the Los Angeles Lakers and will eat chicken in almost any form. Hi! I am from Indio, California, home of the famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. I know it sounds like a dream come true to live so close to where all the excitement and chatter takes place, but I assure you that hundreds of thousands of people flooding your hometown for three weeks straight is more like a nightmare. Fun fact, I have lived in Indio for 17 of my 20 years of life and I have only been to Coachella once. The people I look up to most in my life are my parents. My father grew up playing basketball in Los Angeles and ever since I was a little kid he wanted to make sure that I would be a “BALLER!” (which he also called himself very often, and was just as often met with an eye-roll from my mother). Although I never made it to the NBA, my love for basketball, and sports in general, has never waned. I get excited to watch a game, hear sports talk on the radio, or even read/write an article about sports, even if I am a NARP. I decided to combine my love for sports with a love for storytelling here at the Chimes. Sports in their nature are inspiring. They call for one to go beyond what they think is possible in order to achieve a goal, and when one does so, that story should be heard. I want to tell these stories here at Biola and hopefully inspire a generation of students to reach for more.

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Women’s basketball loses to No. 1 in PacWest conference

TOUGH START

WINNING MENTALITY

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