LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Senior forward
Jessilyn Conicelli scored 16 points and added 13 rebounds while fellow senior forward
Jennifer French contributed 15 points as Biola rolled to a 73-49 non-conference win over cross-town foe Whittier College on Monday night.
The Eagles improve to 3-0 on the season with the victory while handing the Poets a loss in their season-opener.
Conicelli had another strong night, recording 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting and tallying 13 rebounds--five on the offensive glass. She moved into 10th place on Biola's all-time scoring list with 1,074 career points. French added a season-high 15 points and had four steals, two blocks and five rebounds.
The game got off to a sloppy start as Biola hit just three of its first 15 shots and trailed 8-7 just over seven minutes into the contest. The Eagles started to pick things up near the 13 minute mark as French hit a jumper to put the home side back on top and key a 16-3 run over the next 10 minutes.
Biola would stretch the lead to 16 and maintain that advantage at 36-20 at the half.
In the second half, the Eagles came out firing and quickly stretched the lead to 20 at 40-20 on a jumper by Conicelli. Whittler hung around, however, and closed the gap to 14 on a pair of free throws with 12:46 to go. After Biola pulled away a bit, the Poets narrowed the deficit to 13 at 53-40 at the 9:35 mark. But the Eagles would respond with a 13-0 run over the next five minutes to take their biggest lead at 68-40.
Biola had a decisive advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Poets 58-34 including a 26-14 edge on the offensive glass. That lead to 21 second-change points by the Eagles.
The inside domination showed up in a 44-10 edge on points in the paint for Biola including all 16 of Conicelli's points.
Biola returns to action this weekend with a pair of big games in Idaho. The Eagles are taking part in the Lewis-Clark State College Classic in Lewiston, Idaho on Friday and Saturday. Biola faces No. 11 Lewis-Clark State on Friday at 6:00 p.m., then faces Oregon Tech at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
