Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- It looked like Biola might struggle in this one when, squaring up for the opening tip, Biola's center for this one, Amanda Darouie, stood a whole nine inches shorter than Bethesda's Emillie Muanandibu. It looked like they might struggle when Bethesda starting hounding Annie Park as soon as she received an inbound. Finally, it looked like Biola had to fall apart when Bethesda came into the second half on a 16-8 run over six minutes.
 
Instead, with just five players going all 40 minutes, two of whom have played only 141 total minutes combined this season, the game was tied with four minutes just to go. Bethesda would get back on track, continuing to pound away with their size advantage and eventually pull away, but tied at any point in the second half was more than anyone could have expected from the undersized, outmanned Eagles.
 
"Tonight, the five who represented our program played with a lot of heart, a lot of character and played really well," said Head Coach Dr. Bethany Miller. "The girls worked hard. They hustled. They made good halftime adjustments. We held them to five offensive boards in the second half, which we are really proud of that. They played with great teamwork."
 
Playing a much more spread out, guard-oriented style, every player had nine or more points. Amanda Darouie, often being guarded by the opposing center, took advantage of the mismatch for 20 points with 4-8 shooting on three-point shots. Darouie and Park's shooting, seven made threes, spread the Flames' defense beyond their comfort zones, allowing Desiree Robinson to slash to the hoop and flash for offensive rebounds. Robinson would finish with 16 points, her season high, 13 total rebounds, tied for season-high of any Biola player, and seven offensive rebounds, the most of any Eagle this season. Robinson, to remind everyone, is listed as a five-foot-six-inch guard.
 
"As a team, it shows our versatility and the different weapons that we have. We showed we can play big, and we can play small too," said Miller.
 
Unfortunately for Biola, the open threes they were finding and hitting, 43.8 percent, in the first half were not there in the second half, with just one made three on 12 second-half attempts.
 
Bethesda's Emillie Muanandibu also happened. The six-foot-five-inch senior went right over the Eagles for 22 points in just 25 minutes on the floot. Biola tried denying her with Darouie and help behind, but Muanandibu just caught and finished over both defenders. At one point, the Eagles, to no avail, had three defenders trying to prevent her from just catching the ball.
 
Biola falls to 5-3 with the loss as Bethesda improves to 3-5. The Eagles are off for the rest of the week, returning to Chase Gymnasium Dec. 2. They host San Diego Christian for Biola's conference-opener.