LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The Eagles took a firm grasp of their matchup with Western (Ontario) on Saturday with an excellent first quarter marked by defensive success and buckets from DeMoria White.
Biola limited Western (Ontario) to one field goal on 10 attempts in the first quarter and scored 22 points of its own to create a 15-point lead that it would not relinquish. The Eagles never let the lead shrink below 10 points and were up by 20 for the majority of the second half on the way to a 57-36 victory.
"We were able to limit their leading scorers to well below their average points per game with a really focused team effort," said
Sara Dougan. "I thought we boxed out really well today and talked a lot more on the floor today, which led to the defense and rebounding."
Dougan tied Jazz Benn for the team-lead in the rebounds on Saturday with seven while scoring nine points.
But it was White who lead the early change for Biola, going 5-of-7 from the field with three makes from distance for 14 points in the first quarter. She scored all 18 of her points in the first half to finish the game as the Eagles' top scorer for the seventh time this season.
The Eagles took care of business on the defensive end with sheer hustle and speed. As the Mustangs rotated the ball around the arc, the Eagles dependably got players between the ball and the basket to shutdown open looks and force difficult shots.
"I though Tatum Brimley played really good defense and Ezekia Johnson provided a spark off the bench like she always does," said Dougan. "But overall I think we had a well-rounded effort today with everyone on our team encouraging each other."
Admittedly, the Eagles shooting cooled off a bit after shooting 45 percent in the first quarter. But Biola closed things out by making all 10 of its free throw attempts in the second half to squelch any thoughts of a comeback from Western (Ontario.)
The Mustangs' score of 36 marks the first time the Eagles have held an opponent to under 40 points since their 66-36 victory over La Sierra on Nov. 10, 2015.
Head Coach Alan Nakamura's team returns to PacWest play on Wednesday Jan. 3 when the Eagles square off with Dixie State in St. George, Utah. Tipoff is schedules for 4:30 p.m. (PT).
