LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Senior Jennifer French scored all of her team-high 16 points in the second half to lead Biola to a 67-61 victory over the University of Alberta in the third game of the 2010 Biola University Holiday Classic on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles, ranked No. 7 in the latest NAIA Division I rankings, improve to 9-2 on the season while dropping the Pandas to 12-7 on the year.

French recovered from a poor-shooting first half where she missed all seven of her shots and drained 6-of-13 in the second half including 4-of-8 from three-point range. French was one of three Eagles in double-figures with Jessilyn Conicelli scoring 15 points and Christina Barclay recording 10 points and adding 12 rebounds.

Biola had a tough night all around in its first game in over two weeks, but managed to hang in and pull away late with a 19-6 run to take its largest lead of the game at 62-51 with 3:39 to go. Prior to that, the Eagles were unable to pull away from the pesky Pandas despite leading through much of the game. 

Much of the Eagles' problems came in the first half where they shot just 23.7 percent. However, they managed to stay in the game by forcing 20 turnovers and pulling down 12 offensive rebounds. They converted the turnovers into 13 points and had eight second-chance points.

In the second half, Biola was unable to get a lead bigger than five until the late run. The Eagles would hold the Pandas without a field goal for five minutes and stretch the lead quickly to seven. 

Biola shot much better in the second half, connecting on 16-of-33 for 48.5 percent and finished the game with a lower-than-average 35.2 percent shooting night. Alberta shot 41.2 percent in the game but was hindered by 31 turnovers and was outrebounded 45-36.

Biola returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Holy Names University in its second game of the Holiday Classic. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. and is the third of four games on the day. The second day of the Holiday Classic begins at 1:00 p.m.