Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola's offense struggled though its defense played well in a 51-36 loss to former GSAC rival Azusa Pacific University in a non-conference contest on Monday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The Eagles fall to 4-4 on the season with their first home loss of the year while the Cougars improve to 2-5 overall.
Sophomore Amy Freet led Biola with 11 points while junior Adijat Adams and sophomore Chelsea Hill each added 10. However, the rest of the team combined to score just five points in support.
The Eagles' defense continued to play well, though, holding Azusa Pacific below its season average in scoring and to just 31.3 percent shooting from the field. Of their 51 points, 23 came from Kelly Hardeman, who hit 7-of-15 from the field including 5-of-9 from three-point range.
Azusa Pacific, which entered the contest hitting a little better than 51 percent from the free-throw line, was 16-of-20 in the came including 10-of-10 in the first half. Biola was able to convert just 3-of-10.
The Eagles fell behind early as the Cougars scored the first six points of the game and led 8-2 with 13:26 to go in the first half. Biola's defense stepped up from there and held Azusa Pacific without a field goal over the nine minutes. However, over that stretch, Biola was able to score just four points while the Cougars went 6-for-6 from the free throw line as APU extended its lead to 14-6.
Azusa Pacific snapped its field goal drought with a bucket by Kelly Hardeman. The basket started a nine-point run by Hardeman, who hit a three-pointer on the next possession and a layup one minute later. She closed out the APU scoring with a pair of free throws to make it 23-9. Hill would high a fast-break runner with 22 second left to get Biola into double-figures, though the Eagles trailed 23-11 at the break.
In the second half, Hardeman kept her scoring-streak going with a three-pointer 12 seconds in and capped an APU 11-4 run with a three to give the Cougars a 34-15 lead with 15:23 to go.
Biola struggled to get much closer over the next six minutes, but used an 13-4 run over a seven-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 10 with 2:39 to go. Adams came alive over that stretch, scoring six of her 10 points to help bring the Eagles back.
But Azusa Pacific's Sullivan Ziegler hit a bucket and was fouled with 2:14 to go to stretch the lead back to 12, then after a Biola turnover, Ziegler repeated the feat--this time hitting the free throw--to make it a 50-35 game.
Adams scored all of her 10 points in the second half after getting in foul-trouble in the first. Freet had seven of her 11 in the second half as well.
While Biola out-scored the Cougars 20-12 in the paint, Azusa Pacific held a commanding 42-29 edge in rebounds including a 10-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
The 36 points scored by the Eagles in the game was the second-lowest point total of the season for Biola, which scored just 32 in a 42-32 loss at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Nov. 15. While Biola's defense ranks second in the NAIA allowing just 46.1 points per game, the offense has scored just under 54 points a contest.
The Eagles hit the road for their next two games, traveling north to face Cal Maritime on Friday and Menlo College on Saturday.
