Box Score FULLERTON, Calif. --- Biola has been coming from behind all season long, and that trend continued as the Eagles made two valiant comeback attempts on Wednesday night. The charge fell just short as the Eagles were eliminated in their GSAC Tournament First Round game at No. 17 Hope International.
 
The Eagles took a few small leads, but played from behind for most of the night before eventually finishing up 12 points behind the Royals in the 77-65 loss.
 
The loss eliminates the Eagles from further postseason play and ends their year with a 12-19 overall record.
 
The entire year has revolved around the Eagles' ability to overcome obstacles and unfortunate starts, so why should their season-finale be any different.
One particularly difficult obstacle that stood in Biola's way was the Royals' Andrina Rendon.
 
Rendon came out on the hottest of hot streaks, nailing 7-8 shots from the floor, 4-5 from deep and 6-6 from the line to put up 23 points on Biola in the first 20 minutes alone.

She was the go-to option for the HIU offense that was not getting many shots made from its other starters. The key to Biola's ability to even keep the game close would eventually revolve around stopping the Royal's big, senior forward.
 
Khadidja Diakite was tasked with taking that assignment, and she handled it well, holding Rendon to just nine points in her 17 second-half minutes.
 
Biola had a late run in the previous meeting between these two teams at Darling Pavilion that led to an upset victory in their regular-season matchup. It seemed as if they were simply continuing where that run left off from the opening tip on Wednesday night.
 
The Eagles rode their ability to make outside shots and midrange jumpers to get a quick 9-4 lead in a half-empty gym in Fullerton, Calif. HIU battled back to take a 12-11 lead as Rendon began to heat up, but Biola kept its composure and seemed poised to run away as it scored nine of 11 points to open up a 21-14 lead.
 
Then the turnovers, of which Biola committed 19 on the night, began to happen and the hot hand of HIU began to show its cards. An 11-1 run, and only one missed shot, over the next three minutes gave the Royals a 25-22 advantage that they began to expand. Eventually the Royals' shooters gave them a 43-34 advantage at halftime, thanks in part to a last-second three-point shot converted by Rendon.
 
More Eagles' turnovers and fouls coming out of the halftime break helped HIU build a 12-point lead with just over 17 minutes to play before Biola began to step up its rebounding efforts and catching some solid bounces.
 
It was an amazing stretch of missed shots by the Royals and conversions by the Eagles that led to a 14-point run in the middle of the second half and a brand new ballgame at 52-52.
 
Aubree Mittel, the Eagles' leading scorer on the night, was key to that run, nailing back-to-back three-pointers when Biola needed it most.
 
A five-point stretch by Elizabeth Munger gave Biola the 53-52 lead it was so desperately seeking, but it was also the last positive play of the game for the Eagles. After they took the lead back, they suffered from turnovers and some surgical free throw shooting by HIU that gave the Royals all the advantage the needed to pull away and seal the contest.
 
Fittingly, it was Rendon on the line for the Royals with just seven seconds to play. She made both free throws to put up the Royals' final two points in the playoff victory.
 
While Biola's season ends, HIU continues play in the GSAC Tournament. They face No. 1 Vanguard in Costa Mesa, Calif. on Friday night in the GSAC Semifinals.
 
Adijat Adams played in her final game in a Biola uniform on Wednesday night, registering 14 points, two blocks and seven rebounds to close the book on her legacy as one of the best to ever call J. Richard Chase Gymnasium home.