Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Women's Basketball took a page from Taylor Swift's book and shook it off in a big way on Saturday afternoon by rebounding from a 31-point loss to runaway with a 31-point victory over Cal Maritime.
 
"After the Bethesda game we said we were going to work to be the most improved team in the country," said Head Coach Alan Nakamura. "After that tough game the team came in early the next day ready to practice and take ownership of their season."
 
A phenomenal performance in all aspects on Saturday is sure one way to make a case for the most improved team in the country. The Eagles beat the Keelhaulers 66-35 just one day after Cal Maritime was able to hang within 10 points of the Bethesda team that beat BU by 31.

Biola trailed through much of the first quarter, getting down by as much as seven points at 10-3, but eventually it clicked and clicked in a big way.
 
The biggest performance of the afternoon came from freshman Sara Dougan. The post player served as a facilitator of the offense and a lockdown defender in finishing with a double-double and just three assists shy of a triple-double. She finished with 11 points, 13 boards and seven rebounds in 31 minutes. Six of Dougan's 13 rebounds were on the offensive end and helped Biola extend its possessions and keep Cal Maritime away from solid transition play.
 
One way Biola was able to put away its opponent was through strong distribution of the ball. The team as a whole ended up with a positive assist-turnover ratio, which was a far cry from what it had the other night.
 
"The team is really unselfish," said Nakamura. "As evidenced they really moved the ball well, made the extra pass and found the great shot."
 
A lot of the afternoon it seemed to be that the great shot came from beyond the arc. The team shot less than 20 percent from deep last time out, but it had the three-ball working in a big way on Saturday. The Eagles were 9-of-24 from distance including a stretch where Aubree Mittel and Danielle Kennedy combined for triples on three-straight trips down the court as the Eagles pulled away.
 
Three of the nine made three-pointers came from Mittel who finished with 12 points and shot nearly 50 percent from the floor. She was Biola's second leading scorer after a productive 30 minutes.
 
It was Taylor Casey who led the team in scoring with 14 points in just 27 minutes. She was sneaky in putting those points on the board but was definitely not sneaky on the defensive end. The senior forward had four blocks and six defensive rebounds in leading a tremendous team defensive effort.
 
"Our team really scrambled together to play some great team defense," said Nakamura. "It was really our defense that turned the game late in the second quarter. When you play great team defense it really is a sign of an unselfish team."
 
That defense held the visiting Keelhaulers to a 17.4 percent field goal percentage for the entire game. Cal Maritime was 12-for-69 from the floor and a dismal 3-for-26 from distance.
 
Biola was able to extend the lead by dominating the boards. They got plenty of added possessions from their 15 extra rebounds (53-38) and 10 steals.  Aubree Mittel and Brenna Khaw led with three steals each and Casey and Mittel's seven rebounds each were second to Dougan's 13.
 
When all was said and done it was very much a confidence-building win that helped Nakamura to his first win as a head coach.

"I don't feel any different really," said Nakamura. "I was just excited to see the team have a lot of success. It was a really good team win."
 
The Eagles improve to 1-1 and drop the Keelhaulers to 0-2. Biola is back in action next Saturday night when it hosts La Sierra at 5:30 p.m.