LEWISTON, Idaho --- No. 13 Biola put up a strong fight in its first tough game of the year, but struggled for the field and suffered a 61-52 loss at the hands of No. 11 Lewis-Clark State College in the opening day of the Warriors Classic in Lewiston on Friday.
The Eagles, ranked No. 13 in the NAIA Preseason Poll, fall to 3-1 while the Warriors, ranked No. 11 in the same poll, improve to 5-0.
Senior forward Jessilyn Concielli led Biola with 14 points and 17 rebounds while fellow senior forward Jennifer French added 12 points.
However, the Eagles shot just 27 percent in the contest and were out-rebounded by the Warriors 52-44.
Biola fell behind early as the Warriors rushed out to a 12-3 lead as the visitor's hit just one of its first 11 shots. The Eagles didn't get their first point until Conicelli made one of two free throws at the 17:24 mark and their first field goal until an Emily Drews jumper just under five minutes in.
However, Biola shrugged off the slow start with a 9-2 run of their own to tie the score at 14-14 on a put-back by senior Megan Jackson. The Eagles continued the run while holding the Warriors without a field goal over a five minute stretch to late a 20-15 lead.
But a three-pointer by Jasmine Stohr followed by a Alyssa Fierro three-point play put the Warriors back on top and started a 10-0 run. The Eagles would slowly chip away and tie the score on a layup by Conicelli, but trailed 30-27 at the break.
Lewis-Clark State opened the second half with an 11-4 run to take a commanding 41-31 lead as Biola again struggled early in the half. But once again, the Eagles fought back to cut the lead to four at 43-39 on a three-pointer by French with 10 minutes to go.
Biola cut the lead to three at 45-42 with just over five minutes to go but could get no closer as the Warriors pulled away with a late 10-3 run to go back up by 10 with 2:35 left.
The Eagles would put together one final charge and narrowed the gap to six in the final minute as Lauren Gustafson drained a long three and Christina Barclay added a put-back bucket in the paint to make it a 58-52 game. But the Warriors held on over the final 45 seconds for the win.
The Warriors were led by Jasmine Stohr, Alyssa Fierro and Kirsi Voshell each scored 13 points while Kenna Reiter added 11. Voshell also added 15 points.
Biola closes out the tournament on Saturday, taking on Oregon Tech at 2:00 p.m.
