Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- After trailing by 26 points after a terrible first half, Biola turned it on in the second half and narrowly missed an upset, falling just short in a 59-53 loss to No. 8 The Master's College in a GSAC game Saturday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The loss was the fourth-straight for the Eagles who fall to 9-10 on the season and to 0-4 in GSAC play. The Mustangs stay perfect, improving to 17-0 and to 4-0 in the conference.
Biola trailed by as many as 26 points in the first half, struggling from the field and hitting just 18 percent while committing 16 turnovers. But the Eagles shot 41 percent in the second half, outscoring The Master's 44-24, but ultimately falling just short.
Freshman Aubree Mittel had a solid game for the Eagles, scoring 13 points--including 10 in the second half--and adding five rebounds and three steals. Senior Jamie Elias scored all nine of her points in the final run, hitting three three-pointers for the Eagles.
The game got off to a good start for the Eagles as an early three-pointer by Mittel at 16:29 tied the game at 5-5. But Biola scored only two points over next 12 minutes as The Master's went on a long 20-2 run to go up 25-7. Hill ended the run with an acrobatic layup with 4:30 to go before the half to make it 25-9, but the Mustangs closed out the half by scoring 10 unanswered to take a 35-9 lead at the break.
Biola started the second half strong, opening the period with an 13-5 run over the first seven minutes to cut it to a 18-point game at 40-22 with 12:39 left. The game went back and forth over the next four minutes before Biola caught fire down the stretch.
After a layup by Jacquelyn Marshall gave The Master's a 50-30 lead with 8:01 to go, the Eagles rolled off a 13-2 run over the next nine minutes and pulled to within nine on a three-pointer by Becca Devere made it 52-43 with 2:15 left.
Devere would come up with a big steal on the other end but the Eagles couldn't convert it into point as The Master's took back the ball. Biola began to foul and the Mustangs converted one of two free throws to stretch the lead back to 10 and forced a turnover and a missed shot on the next two Biola possessions.
The Master's hit four free throws on the next two chances and stretched the lead back to 14 with 52 seconds left. Elias would drain all three of her three-point attempts over the final 52 seconds while The Master's hit just two of four free throws making it a six-point game but time ran out on the come-back effort.
Marshall led all scorers with 15 points for the Mustangs, adding four blocks, eight rebounds and three assists. Theresa Brown had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Zoe Scott added 10.
Biola returns to action on Tuesday with the first of two road games, traveling to Fullerton to face Hope International (9-10, 1-3 GSAC) at 5:30 p.m.
