BOX SCORE

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Tuesday night's game could best be described as a tale of two halves as Biola dropped a heart-breaker to Westmont College 58-54 in a Golden State Athletic Conference game at Murchison Gymnasium in Santa Barbara.

The Eagles (4-11, 1-5 GSAC) opened the game with an impressive first half, staking themselves to a 10-point halftime lead after shooting an impressive 46 percent from the field. However, the Warriors (11-3, 3-3 GSAC) returned the favor with an equally impressive shooting performance in the second half, hitting 43 percent from the field and forcing 16 Biola turnovers en route to the victory.

Biola's first half started out strong as the Eagles jumped out to a 14-2 lead just over five minutes into the period. The Warriors were able to cut the lead to five on a pair of occasions, but the Eagles played incredible defense and held the lead through the half and took a 34-24 lead into halftime.

Westmont took its first lead of the game early in the second half, opening with an 18-4 run. But the Eagles clamped down on the defensive end and began to hit their shots and took a 49-45 lead courtesy of back-to-back jumpers by freshman Jessilyn Conicelli with 6:30 remaining. However, the Warriors used a 10-0 run over the next six minutes to put the game away.

Junior Megann Alberts led Biola with 13 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Elise Paty added nine points off the bench on three three-pointers while sophomore Chelsea De Luca added eight points for the Eagles.

Amber Stevens scored 17 points for the Warriors and also contributed five rebounds and four steals. Stephanie Anderson scored all nine of her points in the pivotal second half and added four boards for Westmont.

Biola returns to Chase Gymnasium for its next game, hosting Concordia University (Calif.) in a GSAC game on Saturday (Jan. 19) at 5:30 p.m.