Box Score FULLERTON, Calif. ---
Adijat Adams had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double and was one of four Biola players in double figures as the Eagles escaped Fullerton with a 69-61 victory over Hope International in a GSAC game Tuesday night.
Biola snaps its four-game losing streak, improving to 10-10 on the season and recording its first GSAC victory to move to 1-4. The Royals drop to 9-11 and are 1-4 in conference play.
Adams had another solid performance for the Eagles, recording her seventh double-double on the year and first in her last five games. She finished by shooting 6-of-12 from the field and added three free throws for 15 points, contributing 10 rebounds as well.
Amy Freet and Jamie Elias each added 14 points with Freet pulling down seven rebounds and Elias hitting 5-of-9 from the field including a pair of three-pointers. Freshman Aubree Mittel added 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting from three-point range.
Hope opened the game with an early 6-2 lead five minutes in, but Biola responded with a 16-6 run oner the next seven minutes, holding a lead of 18-8 at the 8:13 mark. The Royals would close the gap to seven late in the half, but a jumper by Kristen Frey with 17 seconds left gave the Eagles a nine-point lead at 30-21 at halftime.
Ten of Hope's 21 points in the first half came from the free throw line as the Royals hit just 5-of-29 from the field (17.2%) in the opening half.
In the second half, Hope started strong and narrowed Biola's lead to just three at 31-21 two minutes in. The score would stay close with Biola leading to a 38-35 lead with 15:40 left in the game. But the Eagles came alive and went on a 20-2 run over the next six minutes to take a commanding 58-37 lead with nine minutes to play.
Hope answered the run with one of its own, scoring 13 of the next 15 points to pull within 10 with 4:11 to go. Biola would get a layup by Adams to end the run and--after a defensive stop on the other end--Becca Devere hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead back to 14 with 2:26 to go.
The Royals scored on a three-point play on their next possession and got a second-chance three-pointer to cut the lead to eight with 1:41 on the clock. However, Biola hit five of seven from the free throw line the rest of the way and limited Hope to just five points to hang on for the victory.
Devere finished with seven points, six assists, four steals, four rebounds and a block to help Biola while Chelsea Hill pulled down 12 rebounds to go along with five points.
Andrina Rendon scored a game-high 26 points and added 11 rebounds for a double-double, hitting 10-of-13 from the free throw line to lead Hope International. Brittany Bauman added 14 points for the Royals.
Biola limited Hope to just 28.8 percent shooting in the game, but allowed Hope to stay in the game thanks to 21 turnovers. The Royals also held a 17-14 advantage in offensive rebounds, though Biola held a commanding 51-39 lead in overall rebounding.
The Eagles close out the two-game road trip on Saturday, playing at Concordia University beginning at 5:30 p.m. Biola returns home to face Arizona Christian University in the final game of the first-half of GSAC play on Tuesday, January 29.
