Box Score SANTA CLARITA, Calif. --- All season long No. 17 The Master's College has been a tough matchup for Biola, holding the Eagles between 42-47 points in each of its two regular season losses. Biola again had trouble scoring points against TMC's defense as its season came to a close with a 53-38 loss to the Mustangs in the first round of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament.
Both teams began the game missing the mark, missing a combined 25 of the first 30 shots in the contest, giving Biola prolonged life in the contest as the score was just 8-8 up to 14:25 into the first half.
The Mustangs began to heat up in the latter stages of the first half and held the Eagles quiet early in the second half to build a lead strong enough to hold throughout and bring Biola's season to a shuddering stall after another outing of cold shooting.
For Biola, the 38 points is a new low for the season, eclipsing the 42-point outing against TMC last week that was the previous season-low scoring output. It was not what was hoped for in the four days of anticipation leading up to this one, as the Eagles had a chance to dwell on the big performance they got against Westmont on Saturday night where they shot 43 percent and came one point shy of knocking off the No. 3 team in the conference.
None of that mojo was flowing tonight as Biola was bricking all night long, but especially through the first half. The Eagles shot 19.2 percent in the first half as TMC posted a 29.2 percent mark and was able to grab a 21-12 halftime lead with a late surge. The Mustangs made 6-of-9 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes, while the Eagles did not earn a single trip to the line.
The Master's starting making more shots in the final 20 minutes, but they also benefitted from extra possessions that Biola comped them. The Eagles committed 23 turnovers in the game, which led to 28 extra points for the Mustangs. If Biola allows half of those points off turnovers and makes five percent more from the floor it becomes a 42-39 Biola win.
Unfortunately, that is not what happens, and what has been another up-and-down season comes to a close with the loss. It was the final game in black for seniors
Chelsea Hill,
Elizabeth Munger,
Amanda Darouie and
Desiree Robinson.
Fittingly, Hill was one of two Eagles who reached double digit scoring on this final night of play. She accumulated 10 points, eight of them coming in the second half, and was aided by 4-of-6 shooting on free throws.
Khadidja Diakite was Biola's leading scorer, coming up with 11, mostly off a solid first few minutes. Diakite was responsible for all of Biola's first six points, shooting 2-of-3 from the floor with two triples.
Bianca Cubello, TMC's all-conference sophomore, led the way for the Mustangs, scoring 13 and going a very respectable 5-of-13 from the field. She also had a hand in compiling TMC's points off of turnovers, nabbing one of the Mustangs' 14 steals. Millie Rivera led the way in that fight, taking the ball away from Biola five times and adding two assists to help the Mustangs pad their lead.
Biola's season comes to a close at 16-15 overall. It's the Eagles' first winning season since going 23-11 in 2011-12. The Master's College moves to 22-8 overall and will face No. 7 Concordia on Friday night in a conference semifinal game held inside Chase Gymnasium.
