No. 14 Eagles Exit At GSAC Semifinals

Biola awaits the NAIA Basketball National Championship selection show on March 8.

Box Score SANTA CLARITA, Calif. --- Try as they might, the No. 14 Eagles could not get in rhythm from beyond the arc on Saturday. The absence of the three point shots meant Biola had to turn to a slow grind for points and eventually came up short 51-59 against No. 7 Westmont.

The Eagles played with an impressive tenacity for most of the game on the defensive end but shot just 2-of-25 from three in the loss.

But to Westmont's credit, the Warriors showed an excellent nose for rebounds on the night, pulling down 23 offensive rebounds for 18 second chance points. When Biola took away the offensive options of All-GSAC players Aimee Brakken and Aysia Shellmire for most of the game, Cora Chan and Lauren McCoy stepped up with a double-double each and 56 % of the Warriors scoring.

Chan finished with 24 points (a career high) and 13 rebounds, while McCoy collected 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Even though Biola did not hit a three-pointer until the second half, the Eagles never really lost a shot at a win until the closing moments. 18 first half points in the paint proved that the No. 1 scoring defense in the NAIA was not suffocating for the Eagles. One gets the sense that they would take their chances the next time around would a fresh opportunity to get shots from beyond the arc to fall.

Following a 29-31 score at halftime, the Eagles would take the lead briefly on a Sara Dougan triple with 8:11 to go in the game. Biola would also tie the game three times down the stretch, but the game began to slip away as the Eagles missed the majority of their shots in the final five minutes.

Joclyn Kirton led Biola with 10 points and Dougan, Annie Park and DeMoria White all chipped in nine each. The Eagles won the battle for points on layups 30-to-14.

With the end of the Eagles' GSAC tournament run, Biola waits for the NAIA Basketball National Championship selection show on March 8 at 5:00 p.m. (PT). An at-large bid for the No. 14 Eagles would send Biola to Billings, MT for the national tournament and would be Biola's first appearance in the tournament since 2012.

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Players Mentioned

#33 Sara Dougan: F; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#21 Joclyn Kirton: F; 6' 0"; Senior

#1 Annie Park: G; 5' 5"; Senior

#5 DeMoria White: G; 5' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#33 Sara Dougan
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: F

#21 Joclyn Kirton
: 6' 0"; Senior
: F

#1 Annie Park
: 5' 5"; Senior
: G

#5 DeMoria White
: 5' 4"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned

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