Box Score SANTA CLARITA, Calif. --- After two of their best games of the season last week, the Eagles visited No. 18 The Master's with the door open for a return to Chase Gym in the playoffs. Well, the Mustangs slammed that door quickly, jumping out to a 25-8 lead by the eight-minute mark. The Eagles' offense, which exploded just a week ago against Concordia for 93 points, was held to a season-low 42 and a season-low 24 percent from the field.
Biola finished the first half with just 12 points, trailing by 23, a margin they'd hover around for a majority of the rest of the game with the final score being 73-42.
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While the numbers set a new season-low, the inconsistent offense is not new for the Eagles. Prior the relative offense explosion over the last four games where they averaged 77 points per game, Biola averaged just 54.2 points for a five game stretch that saw them lose four of those five. For the young Biola squad consistent shot-making still isn't there. Still, if the team can get hot like it's team is capable of, the Eagles can be a dangerous opponent moving forward into the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament. The question as it has been all season is just when and where the shots will drop.
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However, even if some more of the shots dropped, tonight would have been a tough one for Biola. The Mustangs thoroughly dominated in every facet, hitting more threes and free throws, forcing more turnovers, more blocks, more bench points, and so on. It was just that kind of night for Biola, whis is surprising because the Eagles played TMC close in its visit to Biola earlier this year. Road trips have caused problems for Head Coach
Dr. Bethany Miller's squad. This loss drops them to 2-4 on the road in conference with those two wins coming against bottom-dwelling GSAC teams, while overall they fall to .500 on the road.
No Biola players reached double-digits in this one as the Eagles' leading scorers were
Annie Park and
Aubree Mittel, who each had nine. It was a solid game for Mittel, who was 3-of-4 from the floor in her 14 minutes on the court. She was playing in front of a somewhat hometown crowd, being from local Simi Valley and having her sister as an assistant coach on The Master's College.
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Saturday will mark the end of the regular season as Biola (16-13, 8-7 GSAC) travels to No. 15 Westmont (22-5, 9-5 GSAC). A win will give the Eagles their first over .500 conference finish since the 2011-12 team. With a win or loss Biola is secured as the No. 5 seed in next week's GSAC Championship Tournament, meaning their opening round matchup will come against whichever of this week's opponents falls into the No. 4 spot.
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