Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. ---Tuesday night's Biola Women's Basketball season opener did not go precisely the way first year head coach Alan Nakamura would've wanted as the Eagles fell to the visiting Bethesda Flames, 62-93.
 
"I learned that we have a determined but inexperienced team," said Nakamura. "The team is very coachable. They want to be good, and they are really sticking together and they're ready to get back to work tomorrow."
 
This was both teams' first game of the season and the first time on the collegiate court for all five of Nakamura's freshmen additions. His handful of first year players combined for 89 hard played minutes on the night.
 
The Eagles' young squad kept pace with the Flames' fast-paced offense and full-court press defense through the first 10 minutes of play as both teams struggled to drain shots in the opening quarter resulting in a close score line.
 
The teams combined to shoot just 10-for-35 from the field in the first quarter as Biola held to within two at 12-10. After Biola took leads at 2-0 and 4-3 the overpowering Bethesda offense took over and never trailed again.
 
The second quarter is when the visitors really began run away with the game. They doubled up on the Eagles' tally in that period to pull out to a 32-20 advantage at the half.
 
The Flames put up the rest of their points in a hurry thanks to a torrid three-point shooting pace through the third and fourth quarters. Bethesda went 11-for-19 from deep through the final 20 minutes after going 5-for-15 over the first two periods in making a ridiculous 16 shots from deep.
 
"Give Bethesda a lot of credit," said Nakamura. "They have a clear philosophy and were fully committed to that philosophy from start to finish and they shot the ball great."
 
The area where the Flames excelled the most Biola struggled straight from the opening tip. The Eagles shot just 6-for-31 from distance throughout the night, including a rough go of it in the first half at 0-for-15. Danielle Kennedy was the only player to make more than one three going 3-for-8 on shots from deep.
 
Despite the disadvantage in three-point shooting Biola's young team kept pace with the Flames' overall shooting percentage as both teams hovered around 40 percent. However, the Bethesda team put up 14 more shots than the Eagles managed throughout the night.
 
That difference was on account of Biola's inability to maintain possession. The Eagles gave the ball away 30 times to allow Bethesda 24 points off of turnovers. A handful of those turnovers were simple mental mistakes as a result of the inexperience on the court and should be easily resolved as the season goes along.
 
The Flames also had butterfingers in coughing the ball up 20 times, but Biola's shooters were unable to take advantage of it only posting 13 points off turnovers.
 
A huge advantage to Jason Pruitt's Flames squad was the depth on their bench. The additional bodies were a huge advantage in this early season matchup as the visiting team was able to do complete line change substitutions throughout the night to keep their high-tempo offense stocked with fresh legs.
 
That bench accounted for an incredible 64 bench points that was led by Olivia Ochoa, Tamara Herring and Francis Ordonez. Those three were bench players that hit the double-digit points mark where only one of Bethesda's starters scored more than 10.
 
Biola's leading scorer was DeMoria White. She tallied 21 points and nine dimes as she controlled the Eagles' offense from start to finish. Kennedy and freshman Emma Newman also reached double-digits with 12 and 11, respectively.
 
A bright spot for the Eagles was some efficient scoring inside from Newman, Taylor Casey and Sara Dougan. The trio combined to shoot 10-for-19 on the night.
 
Overall, it was a good first night for the team to log some court time at full speed and for Nakamura to assess what kinks his team will need to work out going forward.
 
"I really enjoy working with this team. We definitely have bright days ahead of us and I cant wait to get back to work with them," said Nakamura.
 
The loss drops Biola to 0-1 on the year, while the visiting Flames improve to 1-0 on the new season. The Eagles are at home again for their next game this Saturday. They host Cal Maritime at 2:00 p.m.