LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Junior guard Emily Drews had a career-high 21 points and senior forward Jessilyn Conicelli added 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Biola to a 78-55 victory over Westmont College in its GSAC opener on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles, ranked No. 13 in the NAIA preseason poll, improve to 6-1 on the season and to 1-0 in GSAC play. The Warriors suffer their first loss and fall to 6-1 and are now 0-1 in conference.

Drews was nearly unstoppable from the field, hitting 8-of-12 overall and 5-of-8 from three-point range. She had five of Biola's seven three-pointers on the night and added six assists, three steals and four rebounds.

Conicelli posted her fifth double-double of the season, pouring in 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting and adding 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. 

Biola, which ranks No. 6 in the NAIA in scoring defense, held the Warriors' 20th-best scoring offense to a season-low 55 points, nearly 30 points off their average. Westmont shot just 28 percent in the contest including 20 percent in the first half. 

The Eagles raced out to a big lead in the contest, scoring the first nine points of the game and holding a commanding 23-4 lead near the midway point. The Warriors would put together a brief run  to cut the lead to 11, but Biola held strong and took a 31-16 lead to the locker room.

Westmont scored the first five points of the second half to narrow the lead to 10 at 31-21 and eventually got the Biola lead down to single digits at 39-30 with 15:25 to play in the game. The Eagles would respond with a 16-5 run to go back up by 20 at 55-35 with 10:04 left. Westmont would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Westmont's biggest offensive weapon came at the free throw line as 18 of the team's 55 points were from the charity stripe. Biola's was whistled for 21 fouls to the Warriors' nine, though the Eagles did convert on all three free throw attempts.

Senior post Christina Barclay had a solid evening with 12 points and seven rebounds, also adding two blocks. Senior forward Jennifer French also reached double-figures, scoring 10 points and contributing four steals.

Lisa Peterson led Westmont with 18 points while Katie Kittle added 12 points and six boards.

The Eagles hit the road for their next two contests, starting with a trip to Riverside to face California Baptist University at 5:30 p.m.