FULLERTON, Calif. --- Biola used a big second half push to overcome a six-point halftime deficit, closing out the regular season with a 73-62 win at Hope International on Monday night.

The Eagles, ranked No. 21 in the latest NAIA National Rankings, end the regular season with a 19-10 overall record and place fourth in the always-tough Golden State Athletic Conference with a 14-6 record. The Royals wrap up the year at 12-18, 7-13 in conference.

Biola will host its first post-season game since the 2001-02 season on Wednesday, opening up the GSAC playoffs against The Master's College at Chase Gymnasium. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. (Tickets are available by following the link at http://athletics.biola.edu/tickets.)

The Eagles outscored Hope 45-28 in the second half to take control of what was a good game for the home fans throughout the first half. The Royals seemed to dominate play in the opening 20 minutes, jumping out to a 13-5 lead just over five minutes in thanks to a pair of early threes and some poor shooting by Biola.

Hope would stretch its lead to as many as 13 as Ambrosia Lagmay hit a jumper to make it 22-9 with 9:11 to go in the half. Biola answered right back with an 11-2 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Elise Paty to make it a four-point game and trailed by just two with under a minute to go. But a late turnover after two made free throws allowed the Royals a last look before the half and Champ Hood hit a layup as the clock wound down to give Hope a 34-28 halftime lead.

The first-half numbers seemed surprisingly similar for both teams, though there was a big foul discrepancy. The Eagles were whistled for 10 fouls to just two by Hope leading to 14 free throws by the Royals. Hope would make 12 of those 14 attempts from the line while the eagles were just 2-of-2 in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second half, Biola found its shooting touch and took control early on. After an early layup by Lauren Salazar made it an eight-point game, the Eagles came alive, going on a 16-2 run over the next five minutes. Chelsea De Luca capped the run with a long three-pointer--her second of the run-- to put Biola up 44-38 with 14:20 left.

The Royals hung around and kept the game close over the next four minutes with a pair of free throws making it a 50-46 game with 10:31 left. But Biola put the game out of reach with another 16-2 run, taking its largest lead of the game at 66-48 with 4:44 to play.

The Eagles responded from their poor-shooting first half by hitting 18-of-32 shots (56.3 percent) in the second half to finish at 48.3 percent in the game. Biola also won the battle down low, outscoring the Royals 26-16 in the paint and out-rebounding them 38-32.

Junior forward Jessilyn Conicelli recorded 17 points, but was hampered with foul-trouble, playing just 24 minutes in the contest. Her double-double streak was snapped at five games as she recorded a season-low three rebounds.

De Luca, playing in her final regular-season game for the Eagles, had 14 points thanks to four treys, while Jennifer French added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Lindsay Salazar led the Royals with 14 points with Sarah Nylander contributing 11.

The GSAC playoffs begin on Wednesday at campus sites. The Eagles are the No. 4 seed in the tournament and host No. 5 The Master's. Biola won both meetings between the two schools this year including a 67-62 victory at home back in January.

The other first round match-ups are No. 1 Vanguard hosting No. 8 Concordia, No. 2 Azusa Pacific taking on No. 7 Hope, and No. 3 Point Loma welcoming No. 6 Westmont. All games are slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.

The winners of the first-round games face-off in the semifinals on Friday with the winner of the 1/8 game taking on the winner of the 4/5 and the 3/6 victor facing the 2/7 winner. Each game will be hosted by the highest seed and start at 7:30 p.m. The GSAC Championship game will be on Monday at 7:30 at the highest remaining seed.