LA MIRADA, Calif. --- For a team like this year's rendition of Biola Women's Basketball, weeks like this are fun and are the ones you look forward to most. The Eagles know they're in for good games against good teams and will be challenged to play their best basketball for a full 40 minutes. But there's no question Head Coach Alan Nakamura's group and coaching staff welcome that challenge with open arms as they look to make some big time noise at the PacWest tournament this year and are dead set on making a run to their first NCAA postseason birth.

The Eagles certainly have been playing their best basketball of the season lately and definitely won't be overlooked by either of their long-time rivals. Over its three-game winning streak, Biola is sinking 12 three-pointers per game while beating teams by an average of 25.7 points thanks to what is statistically the best defense in the PacWest at 55.9 points allowed per game. And all the while, the Eagles have remained hungry as they have looked forward to games like these as must-wins in their quest for a truly special season. The team has resolved to learn from its only two conference loses at Point Loma and Hawaii Pacific and is determined to do whatever it can to hold onto the games when it has a late lead. So buckle up, because these games should be quite the ride. 

MULTIMEDIA: Live video and live stats will be provided free of charge for all Biola home contests. See links and cost for road contests in the previews below.

TICKETS: Biola home events are always free to Biola students, staff, faculty and alumni. Children 12 and under are also always free. General admission is $6 and discounted tickets for opposing school students, guests under 18 and seniors are $4. See ticketing information for road contests below each preview below.

THIS WEEK: at Concordia (7-5, 5-2 PacWest) - Thursday January 16 at 5:30 p.m.; at Azusa Pacific (12-3, 6-3 PacWest) - Saturday January 18 at 5:15 p.m.

MULTIMEDIA: Live video and live statistics will be available for all games. See the links below for the direct link for each game. Biola offers free live video of all home events at portal.stretchinternet.com/biola.

BIOLA (11-4, 7-2 PacWest) at Concordia (7-5, 5-2 PacWest): Thursday January 16 at 5:30 p.m.\\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
Concordia's play has been very Jekyll and Hyde over the past five conference games. The Eagles in green and gold have scored 84 points or more in three of their past five games but were held to 47 points at Azusa Pacific and just 39 at Notre Dame de Namur. So the key for Head Coach Alan Nakamura's group will be forcing Concordia into as slow a first-quarter as possible since CUI has scored 19 points or more in all their high-scoring games. Concordia has made about 50 fewer three-pointers than Biola, so if BU clog up the middle and force the likes of Jasmine Rachal and Mikayla VanderKlugt into contested shots it should have a chance to earn its third-straight road win in CUI Arena. Rachal and VanderKlugt both average 17 points or more to lead Concordia's offense, but they account for so many of their team's field goal attempts that an off shooting night for either of them can have a big impact on Concordia's momentum. 

The other factor that might impact the home team is Concordia's schedule coming into its meeting with Biola. This will be CUI's first home game since before Christmas and comes on the heels of a trip to Fresno and back on Monday. Watch to see if Biola tries to leverage its roster depth to push the pace of the game and catch Concordia with stiff legs. 

CONCORDIA IRVINE CAMPUS MAP | CONCORDIA IRVINE TICKETING INFORMATION

BIOLA (11-4, 7-2 PacWest) at Azusa Pacific (12-3, 6-3 PacWest): Saturday January 18 at 5:15 p.m.\\ Live Stats \\ Live Video
After a tough stretch in December that saw the Cougars lose to Hawaii Pacific, Fresno Pacific and Point Loma, Azusa Pacific has largely climbed back on the beam with three-straight wins in the new calendar year. Azusa Pacific is coming off a 74-45 dismantling of Concordia during which the Cougars limited CUI to just 17 points in the second half. Biola will have to deal with an experienced core in the starting five that has only gotten better with the emergence of junior forward Laura Pranger, who averages almost five blocks per game while leading APU in scoring and rebounding. But the freeing possibility for the Eagles may be that the key to beating the Cougars isn't necessarily is stopping their offense since Azusa Pacific has averaged over 72 points in its three losses. Point Loma's 82-77 road win over APU demonstrated that the key to beating the Cougars, even at the Felix Event Center, is to run up the score as much as possible and force APU to keep up. 

Coming into this rivalry matchup, Azusa Pacific leads the Cornerstone Cup standings 30-to-20. Saturday's women's and men's basketball games are each worth five points toward the standings. 

AZUSA PACIFIC CAMPUS MAP | AZUSA PACIFIC TICKETING INFORMATION