Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Head Coach Alan Nakamura played nine players in Friday night's matchup with Montana Tech and he needed the contributions of each and every one of them as Biola squeaked away with a 74-71 upset win over the Orediggers at home.
 
"At the start of an exciting and possibly historic weekend for Biola Athletics, with cross country at nationals, both soccer teams at the soccer tournament and coach Holmquist winning game 899 tonight, we are excited our program did our part to add to the excitement," said Nakamura.


Add to the excitement is right as the Eagles took down a team that just last night pushed the No. 3 team in the nation to the final seconds before suffering just a one-point loss. The Orediggers showed that much fight again on Friday as they had a shot to tie it as time expired when their leading scorer threw up a prayer from half court.
 
Some tight defense from Biola's leading scorer, DeMoria White, had everyone's heart racing for a minute as it seemed like the officials may call a foul with :00 on the clock, but they waved no foul and Biola got away with one.
 
A tremendous first quarter effort led by Danielle Kennedy was one of the keys to the Eagles' success in the one as Biola shot out to a 24-15 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
 
Kennedy was an unstoppable force early on as she drained triple after triple to end up with four makes from deep just over 10 minutes into the game.
 
A layup from Taylor Casey followed by a Kennedy three helped Biola overcome an early 3-0 deficit in the second minute of play. The Eagles would not relinquish that lead until an early fourth quarter run gave the Orediggers a 57-54 lead.
 
The lead would change hands three more times over the final seven minutes of the game with the most important lead change coming with just 15 seconds left on the clock.
 
Moments after a miscue on the defensive end the Eagles took the lead with a Sara Dougan layup to make it a 70-69 game.
 
When Biola got back on defense the pressure forced a Montana Tech player to step out of bounds with nine seconds left, which got the Eagles the ball and setup a foul fest as the Orediggers attempted to get the ball back with time on the clock.
 
They had to intentionally foul White twice (with one MT made layup in the middle) down the stretch, but White answered the call by making all four free throws to secure the three-point victory.
 
"Mori White is doing a great job leading our team," said Nakamura. "The team really looks to her for leadership and poise."
 
She would end the game with a sneaky 25 points on 6-of-14 shooting, but a remarkable 11-of-15 from the line. Kennedy was next with 18 and Casey and Emma Newman each hit double-digits with 11 and 10.
 
"This was a great team effort," said Nakamura. "We overcame a lot of adversity, including a physical, well-coached Montana Tech team that could really shoot. It was gratifying to really come through at the end of the game."
 
On the other side of the ball it was Kourtney Coverdell doing the heavy lifting. She ended with 30 points after going 7-of-13 from distance.
 
"Tonight we could name every player on the team and talk about their contributions," said Nakamura. "It was an exciting team win for our young team."
 
Especially impressive was the work put in by Casey who was 5-for-5 from the floor and ended with four rebounds, a block and a steal. Dougan was also an intimidating force with four blocks.
 
Biola improves to 4-2 with the victory and drops the Orediggers to an even 4-4. The Eagles are next in action at home on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. They host Cal Poly Pomona