BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Jessilyn Conicelli scored 24 points--16 in the second half--and added 16 rebounds while Jennifer French added 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Biola to an 81-72 upset victory over No. 2 Point Loma Nazarene University in a GSAC game on Saturday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles improve to 3-4 on the season with the victory and jumps up to 2-1 in GSAC play. The Sea Lions suffer their first loss of the season, falling to 6-1 overall and to 2-1 in the conference.

Led by Conicelli's 16 rebounds, Biola absolutely dominated the boards, out-rebounding Point Loma 50-26 including a 21-8 edge on the offensive glass. That led to the Eagles holding a 28-6 advantage on second-chance points.

Conicelli hit was absolutely impressive, dominating the game, shooting 8-of-19 from the field but pulling down 16 rebounds--six offensive and 10 defensive. She flew into the lane on a number of occasions late in the game to secure rebounds and keep the Biola offense going.

French also had a strong night, recording 17 points and adding nine rebounds and five assists. All five Biola starters ended up scoring in double-figures. Sophomore guard Charrise Reece and senior guard Chelsea De Luca each scored 12 points while sophomore post Christina Barclay contributed 10 points and added nine rebounds and three blocks.

"It was a great team and individual effort for us tonight," said Biola Head Coach Ken Crawford. "The team worked very hard since the Vanguard game to prepare for this. We think we can play at the top level with teams like this and tonight just proved it."

Biola got off to a fast start in the game, opening up an early 23-9 lead just under eight minutes into the contest as French scored 10 points early on. The Sea Lions came storming back with a 22-4 run over the next eight minutes and took their largest lead of the night on a steal and layup by Amanda Franz to make it 31-27.

The Eagles responded and took the lead right back a few minutes later as Elise Paty hit a deep three to make it 32-31. Biola would stretch its lead to as many as three before heading to the half up 36-35.

In the second half, the teams battled back and forth through the first eight minutes of the period before the Eagles began to slowly pull. With Biola trailing 51-50 with 12:24 to go, Reece went to work, knifing into the lane for an open layup to give the Eagles a 52-51 lead. After a turnover by Colleen Planeta, Barclay came down on the other end and scored on a putback to stretch the lead to three. Just over one minute later Reece again cut through the lane to score on a layup to extend the lead to five.

Biola would stretch the lead to nine with 6:25 to go and then up to 11 on a deep three-pointer by De Luca which made it 71-60 with 4:20 to play. The Sea Lions made one final attempt to close the gap and pulled within five at 71-66 at the 2:52 mark. PLNU made it a four-point game on a layup by PJ Hanson at the 1:21 mark which made it 73-69, but the Eagles held strong. Biola converted all eight of its free throw attempts down the stretch and held on for nine-point win.

Liah Ector led the Sea Lions with 19 points--11 coming from the free-throw line--and added nine rebounds. Amanda Franz added 16 points. Planeta, a 2008-09 NAIA First-Team All-American, was held to a season-low 15 points with 13 coming in the second half, nearly seven points below her season average. She also had just four rebounds, five under her GSAC-best average.

"Barclay did an outstanding job defending Planeta," said Crawford. "Planeta is a very good player and she managed to keep from dominating inside."

After committing 14 turnovers in the first half, the Eagles committed just four miscues in the second half. Overall Biola had 18 turnovers in the contest leading to 23 points by the Sea Lions, while the Eagles turned 14 turnovers into 15 points on their end.

The victory was just the third Biola win over Point Loma Nazarene in the last 16 games, but the second in the last three meetings. The Eagles handed the Sea Lions a 68-63 defeat in San Diego last season, but lost 60-50 in overtime in La Mirada.

Biola returns to action next week, traveling south to participate in the UC San Diego Classic on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 18-19). The Eagles are the lone NAIA team in the tournament and will take on a pair of NCAA Division II schools including the host Tritons, who were picked to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association crown and are currently ranked in the DII Top 10. Biola faces UC San Diego on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and takes on Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.