BOX SCORE

SAN DIEGO Calif. — Biola put up a strong fight in its first playoff game in over four years but was unable to overcome a strong defensive effort by top-seeded and No. 3-ranked Point Loma Nazarene as the Sea Lions downed the Eagles 73-52 Wednesday night in a GSAC first-round playoff game at Golden Gymnasium in San Diego.

Biola ends its season with a 9-22 overall record while Point Loma improves to 26-2 and advances to the GSAC semifinals.

Freshman Jenna French led the way for the Eagles with 12 points while senior Mandi England scored 11 in her final game as an Eagle. Point Loma was led by Liah Ector, who poured in 16 with Kara Sutton-Wodarski adding 14.

Biola opened the game with a quick 6-0 run on back-to-back three-pointers by Jenna French and Mandi England. But Point Loma responded with an 18-4 run to go up 18-10. The Eagles closed the gap to four at 20-16 with 4:41 to play in the half, but the Sea Lions would score 11 of the final 13 points of the period to take a 31-18 lead to the locker room.

In the second half, Biola briefly pulled within 10 points, but would get no closer as Point Loma's offense began to click, shooting over 60 percent in the final 20 minutes to pull away.

Turnovers proved very costly for the Eagles, especially in the first half where 21 Biola turnovers led to 18 points by the Sea Lions. Biola turned the ball over 31 times in the game overall to Point Loma's 19. The miscues nullified the Eagles' 48-32 edge on the boards which included and advantage of 15-5 on the offensive glass.