BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. — Five players scored in double-figures led by sophomore Elise Paty, who recorded 13 off the bench as Biola University held on for a 72-68 upset win over No. 25 California Baptist University in a GSAC game Saturday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The Eagles snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 7-18 on the season and 4-11 in conference play. The Lancers drop to 13-9 on the season and are now 7-8 in the GSAC.
Biola used a balanced attack to take down Cal Baptist, with five players scoring 10 points or more. Paty had 13 thanks to a 4-for-8 night from beyond the arc including two in a crucial stretch in the games' final four minutes.
Freshman Jessilyn Conicelli and junior Megann Alberts contributed 12 points each while freshman Jenna French poured in 11 and junior Summer Matthews scored 10. Alberts nearly had a double-double with points and assists, scoring 12 points and adding nine assists.
Nicole Davis led all scorers with 23 points and added six assists, but was just 9-of-23 from the field overall. Megan Bradford added 13 points.
Biola opened the first half on fire from the field, shooting 56 percent while holding Cal Baptist to 35 percent. The Eagles jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead in the first nine minutes of the contest and extended the lead to 28-14 on a jumper by Alberts with just under five minutes left in the half.
Cal Baptist cut the lead to five with a quick 10-0 run, but Biola ralled back and took a 39-29 lead to the half as Heidi Baker hit a shot from the outside as time expired in the first.
The Lancers opened the second half with an 18-8 run over the first six minutes to tie the game up at 47-47. Cal Baptist would take its first lead of the game moments later on a three-pointer by Davis to go up 50-49.
The Lancers continued to lead until a Paty three-pointer with 2:13 to play tied the score at 66-66. After a CBU miss, Biola came back down and took the lead with a jumper by Conicelli. The freshman would give the Eagles a four-point advantage with a basket on the next possession, then Mandi England sealed the deal with a fastbreak layup with four seconds to play.
Biola ended up shooting 47 percent for the game while the Lancers were only able to connect on 40 percent of their shots. Biola also held a 41-34 rebound advantage and outscored Cal Baptist 32-24 in the paint.
The Eagles return to the court on Tuesday (Feb. 19) and hope to exact a measure of revenge when they battle Westmont at 5:30 p.m. in Chase Gymnasium. The Warriors came from behind to knock of Biola when the two battled earlier in the season at Westmont.
