BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Jennifer French scored 18 points and Jessilyn Conicelli added 14 as Biola cruised to an easy 84-54 win over South Dakota Mines in the second game of the 2009 Guesthouse Inn/Biola University Holiday Classic at Chase Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The Eagles improve to 5-5 on the season with the victory while the Hardrockers fall to 7-8.

French and Conicelli were two of four Biola players to score in double-figures. Megan Jackson and Richae Kater each added 10 points off the bench for the Eagles who led the game from start to finish.

Jackson had one of the best games of her Biola career, recording 10 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting, adding three blocks, three steals and two assists. The junior's scoring total was three points off her career best of 13 which was established last season.

Biola, which was playing in its first game in 12 days, showed little sign of rust, shooting 46.6 percent from the field while holding Mines to just 36.5 percent. The Eagles also played strong defense, forcing 32 turnovers and converting them into 30 points.

The game started out with neither team shooting terribly well as four of the first six points came from the free throw line. The Hardrockers did not record a field goal until the 15:27 mark as Bethany Holyoak hit a jumper which snapped an 0-for-5 shooting start by the team and made the score 7-4 in favor of the Eagles.

Biola would clamp down on defense and began to shoot better to outscore Mines 19-6 over the next eight minutes to open a 26-9 lead with 7:12 to go in the half. The two teams would keep the score close over the final seven minutes and they headed to the half with Biola leading 40-26.

In the second half, the Eagles would stretch the lead to as many as 35, allowing Head Coach Ken Crawford to empty his bench. Senior guard Chelsea De Luca would play the most minutes for Biola, recording 21 as all 13 eligible players on the squad played at least 10 minutes.

De Luca had an impressive streak come to an end in the game as she missed the first free throw of her career. The senior had made 47-straight free throws including a pair earlier in the game, but missed the second of two in the second half as the streak came to an end. It is believed to be the longest streak in school history. She finished the game with eight points and added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Natasha Begay led Mines with 16 points off the bench while Holyoak added 15 points.

Biola closes out the 2009 Guesthouse Inn/Biola University Holiday Classic on Thursday, hosting Black Hills State University (S.D.) at 1:00 p.m. at Chase Gymnasium.