Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- To attempt to quantify tonight's thriller to the unlucky soul who missed it: Biola hosting the No. 6 team in the nation, 200 total points, nine lead changes, 14 times a team retied the game and the first women's overtime game since Dec. 7, 2013. Biola came out a bounce short of pulling off a stunner, but the Concordia Eagles held on and iced their Biola competitors in overtime, 107-93. Annie Park was on fire BU all night, hitting five of six from deep and becoming just the seventh player in the Golden State Athletic Conference to score more than 30 points (31 tonight) this season.
 
"Concordia is such a tough offensive program that we knew we needed to score well against them, and we were able to do so," said Head Coach Dr. Bethany Miller. "We just had a couple tough breaks down the stretch that really could have gone other way but ended up forcing overtime."
 
DeMoria White was a sparkplug as well, putting in 15 big points. However, her two shots at getting to 17 on the night are the story. After Ashey Ellis went 1-for-2 at the line, the Eagles came out of the subsequent timeout with 19 seconds on the clock and the score tied at a blistering 86. Just one more bucket in a game full of them would send the GSAC-leaders (13-1 in conference) back to Irvine with a rare loss. After running through Miller's playcall and not springing a good option free, White created space, drove down the sideline and twisted between two Concordia defenders to fire up the layup. The shot just missed, but it missed right back to White, who unguarded and a foot in front of the basket. The putback bounced off the back of the rim, but into the hands of Taylor Casey. Just beating the buzzer, her shot too failed to find the bottom of the net.
 
"We had multiple opportunities to score open looks in the paint at the end of regulation but sometimes the bounce doesn't go your way. It didn't tonight and that was tough," said Miller.
 
Three chances were much more than Concordia normally gives, and in overtime, they made sure there would not be a fourth, outscoring Biola 21-7 in the final five-minute frame. Jasmine Crawford had no mercy, scoring 11 points of her 28 in overtime and pulling the plug on any Biola comeback by nailing all 14 of her free throws, including six in overtime.
 
The intensity of the game was apparent from the tip with it being clear that Biola would not allow a repeat of their last matchup against their rival Eagles. At Irvine last month, Concordia pummeled BU, 87-56, behind a dominant defensive performance and punishing interior play that saw Concordia outscore Biola by 38 in the paint. Sixty-six seconds into this game, Park set the tone, draining a three and screaming out for her teammates to lockdown now. Four minutes in, a steal by Park set up a White three-pointer to push Biola up 13-6 and send Concordia into the first timeout of the game. Out of the timeout with a vengeance, the Irvine Eagles raced back, jumping ahead of the Eagles within two minutes. As she did all game though, Park would hit another three and unleash another scream as she pushed Biola back on top. And that was all just in the first 10 minutes.
 
"Annie Park is a true leader, and she showed that again tonight, both with her knowledge of the game and her scoring ability," said Miller. "She was obviously key in our game tonight and her stats obviously show that."
           
The intensity never wavered in the second half, which saw Concordia start with a one-point lead after 7-2 run, including a buzzer-beating three by Carly Bishop, to end the first half. As the offenses continued to roll and push the pace, the frustrated defenses started to pile up the fouls. With 21 total fouls committed in just the second half, frustrations were understandably high. However, credit to both teams, neither earned a technical foul. Park continued to be the focal point of the offense, scoring 11 in the second half, but White and Khadidja Diakite came up big, scoring 11 and 10 respectively in the half, to setup the climactic, heartbreaking finish.
 
"You have the opportunity to walk away from a loss like this and celebrate the small things and then work on the things that didn't go well," said Miller. "We showed the different weapons and versatility that we have and that we will continue to fight and finish strong through the rest of GSAC."
 
Biola will have to shake off the loss quickly to finish strong. It plays its final home game of the season on Saturday against No. 8 Vanguard before finishing the regular season on the road against No. 16 the Masters and No. 15 Westmont.
 
Biola's 93 points are its most since December 29, 2012 where the Eagles scored 96 in a 112-96 loss to visiting Olivet Nazarene. Annie Park's 31 points are the most since Adijat Adams scored 31 in an overtime loss to William Jessup last season.