LAST WEEK: Point Loma def. Biola, 60-53; Biola def. Concordia, 69-68 (OT) (1-1 weekly record; 5-5 overall record)

THIS WEEK: vs. Azusa Pacific (7-3, 4-0 PacWest), Saturday Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m.

MULTIMEDIA: Live video and live stats will be provided free of charge for all Biola home contests.

TICKETS: Ticketing information for Saturday's Cornerstone Cup games can be found on the APU-BU Event Page. This ticketing page contains information for Biola students, staff, faculty and alumni, along with ticket information for the general public.

BIOLA (5-5, 3-1 PacWest) vs. AZUSA PACIFIC (7-3, 4-0 PacWest): Saturday Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m. \\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Not much more you can ask for as a basketball fan when it comes to a matchup between two long-standing rivals. Both games last year packed a lot of excitement, especially February's contest in Chase Gym that was a toss-up until the very last second. There's the intrigue of the how the history of previous years will impact Saturday's action and particularly whether Biola's 2-1 record against Azusa Pacific at Chase Gym during Dr. Bethany Miller's tenure as head coach will give the Eagles an edge. But most importantly, the 85th rendition of the Azusa Pacific-Biola women's basketball rivalry figures to have some really good basketball. Both teams are in the top-four of the PacWest standings coming into Saturday's game and have an identical 4-2 record against their common opponents this season. Granted, Azusa Pacific has looked like one of the best teams in the conference over the first two weeks of play and has an average margin of victory of 28 points through four conference games. But the Cougars most recently loss came the week prior to PacWest team against a Northeastern State team that Biola beat by 12 points.

ABOUT LAST WEEK:
Biola's forwards ended up being the difference between the Eagles' road loss at Point Loma on Wednesday and their road win at Concordia on Saturday. Point guard Tatum Brimley contributed her consistent point-total in both contests and has now scored in double figures in six of the last seven contests. But getting six points and nine rebounds from Sara Dougan in her first game of the season and benefitting from a Jazz Benn's 25 points on Saturday put the Eagles in a winning position. Head Coach Alan Nakamura's group also did a great job of scoring early on Saturday, with 18 points in the first four minutes of the game and six points in the two minutes of overtime. Creating that momentum again on Saturday is pivotal for Biola to earn a win because APU's ability to get points from any woman on the floor makes it extremely difficult to play catch-up against the Cougars.

RECENT HISTORY RECAP:
Much has changed for both teams as they head into Saturday's clash because both Azusa Pacific and Biola have had to turn to new leaders in 2018-19. Biola, of course, has graduated All-PacWest guard DeMoria White and has had to compensate by emphasizing a more systematized offense and asking everyone on the floor to hit their open looks. White averaged 12 points per game during the three meetings with APU she had during her career but did not carry her team in the two games against the Cougars last year. On the other hand, Azusa Pacific graduated four women who played important roles in last year's win and will have to lean heavily on the experience of Savanna Hanson and Zoe March. Outside of Hanson and March, Daylee Hanson is the only returning Cougar who averaged more than 10 minutes in last year's Cornerstone Cup games. But Hanson and March are good players to depend on. They are the Cougars top-two leading scorers this year and each took a leading part in last year's victories. Hanson scored a team-high 17 points in the matchup at Azusa, including 11 points during the second half as APU outscored Biola 32-to-25. And March made two key layups late in the game at Chase Gym as she scored 17 points to help her team steal the game back from the Eagles. Previous history says that Biola needs to shutdown the Cougars' offense in order to win. Azusa Pacific was held to fewer than 50 points during the Eagles' two most recent wins, including their last true conference game in 2012 when senior guard Charisse Reece stole the ball in the backcourt with seven seconds left and converted a layup to push Biola to a 51-49 victory.