COSTA MESA, Calif. --- Junior forward Jennifer French scored 20 points thanks to six three-pointers and Biola hit 13 from long-range in the game, but it was not enough as Vanguard defeated the Eagles 78-68 in a GSAC Tournament Semifinal game on Friday night at The Pit in Costa Mesa.

Biola, the No. 4 seed in the GSAC tournament and the No. 21 team in the final NAIA Rankings, falls to 20-11 with the loss, which snaps a four-game winning streak. The Lions, No. 1 in the conference tournament and No. 3 the NAIA, improve to 24-2 on the season.

The Eagles had their long-range attack working well on the night, hitting 13-of-28 from beyond the arc, but fouls and turnovers proved to be their undoing. Biola committed 23 turnovers in the game to just 13 by Vanguard and the Lions turned those into 27 points on their end. The Eagles also committed 21 fouls to just 12 by Vanguard.

French led Biola with 20 points, hitting 6-of-12 three-point attempts and adding four rebounds and an assist. Sophomore guard Charrise Reece added 15 points and six assists for the Eagles while junior forward Jessilyn Conicelli scored 13 points and had six rebounds and five assists.

Conicelli's 13 points give her 1,008 career points in three seasons at Biola, making her just the 13th player in program history to reach that mark. She is on pace to move into the top five in scoring before graduating from Biola next season.

Biola did a fantastic job of sticking with Vanguard through the first half, despite 14 turnovers. The Eagles shot nearly 42 percent in the opening half to just 32 percent by the Lions. Biola managed to keep the score close, reeling in the Lions each time they tried to pull away. Tied at 9-9 four minutes into the game, Vanguard went on its first real run, scoring six-straight over a two-minute stretch.

But the Eagles came right back to pull within two, only to see Vanguard go back up by nine with 8:12 to go. Biola still held tough and narrowed the gap to four, the run capped by a jumper from Megan Jackson which made it 28-24 Lions with 6:07 to go.

Vanguard would go up by as many as seven with 2:35 to go, but French hit a three-pointer followed a short time later by a three from Chelsea De Luca and despite late free throws, Biola trailed by just four at the half, 36-32.

In the second half, French hit a quick three to pull the Eagles to within one point, but Vanguard answered back quickly with an 11-2 run, taking a 47-37 lead at the 16:31 mark. Biola didn't panic as Reece hit a three on the next possession, followed by a French trey shortly thereafter to make it 47-43 just over a minute later.

Still down just five with 14:04 to go, Biola would turn the ball over on four of its next six possession and five times over the next six-plus minutes as Vanguard used a 12-2 run to break the game open. The Eagles were unable to get closer than eight the rest of the way despite a late barrage of five three pointers over the final seven minutes.

Biola struggled to find a way to stop Vanguard's Bridgette Reyes, who scored 28 points and hit 7-of-11 from the field including 4-of-4 from three-point range and connecting on all 10 free throw attempts. Rachel Copeland added 15 points and six boards for the Lions while Jaclyn Blied added 10 points.

The Eagles will now begin preparations for the 2010 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship in Jackson, Tenn., March 17-23. As the No. 21-ranked team in the country, Biola is likely to secure one of the available at-large berths and reach the national tournament for the second time in as many seasons. It will be the first time in the programs history the Eagles have made back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances.