FRESNO, Calif. --- If there were a list of requirements that helped identify a team ready for playoff basketball a few of the following items would assuredly be included: solid defense, the ability to work through cold stretches of shooting, consistency on the glass and at the free-line line when it matters, and the ability to win tough road games.

Biola Women's Basketball checked all those boxes and more during Monday's win over Fresno Pacific, coming back from a home game two days prior and a 10-point deficit in the third quarter to win its 14th conference game of the season by a score of 61-56. 

The win is the first in Fresno for Biola's women's basketball program since 2012 and assures the Eagles a winning record in PacWest road games this season at 6-5. That is the first time Head Coach Alan Nakamura has accomplished that feat in Biola's NCAA Era. 

The game's tense demeanor was established in the first half as neither team was able to score more than 13 points in the first or second quarter. Tatum Brimley provided a steady source of scoring to keep the Eagles within striking distance, pitching in five points in the first quarter and six in the second to lead all scorers with 11 points in the first half. 

Madi Chang also added five points in the opening 20 minutes and Brimley went on to tie her career-high with 11 more points in the second half. But Biola's defense during the first half needs some attention first.

The Eagles held the Fresno Pacific starting five to 23 percent shooting (5-for-22) quarters one and two and also forced 13 turnovers from the home team to keep the pressure on. Twelve of Biola's 22 first half points came off of turnovers as Head Coach Alan Nakamura's group would finish with 18 in the game.

The three-ball started to fall more as the teams came out of the halftime break, allowing the Sunbirds to build a 10-point lead four and a half minutes into the third quarter. But the Eagles responded with the epitome of teamwork when it mattered most: Biola shot 7-for-14 in the third quarter with eight women scoring at least one point to make it a 44-41 game headed into the fourth.

"As usual, this win was a total team effort," said Head Coach Alan Nakamura. "We respect how hard Fresno Pacific plays, and how talented they are at both ends. We got behind by nine and 10 points a few times, and Kayla, Stephanie, Jordan, and Mikayla came in and got us back in the game with defensive energy, and unselfish team offense!"

Aysia Johnson, Jazz Benn and Stephanie Lee combined for an 8-to-2 run that cut into FPU's lead. Then Kayla Macedo and Chang made back-to-back shots in the final 80 second to close the gap to one-point. 

That momentum only made the Eagles more confident to take big shots in the fourth, Brimley chief among them. The senior guard made Monday night special by scoring eight in the fourth, including a 3-for-3 mark at the free throw line, to tie her scoring career-high at 22 points. And the play that actually matched her personal best could not have been bigger, as Brimley drove to the basket and kissed a layup off the glass to setup the old-fashioned three-point play and give Biola a 56-51 lead with 3:54 left. 

The Phoenix, Arizona-native will go into the final game of the regular season with 989 career points, 11 shy of joining the 1,000-point club for Biola Women's Basketball.

In the lead up to Brimley's and-one, Benn made a key layup at the 8:19 mark to tie the game at 45 and then buried a three from the elbow that put Biola back in the lead with 5:50 to go. 

But credit for knocking down the free throws that closed out the game goes to Johnson. The sophomore went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the last four-plus minutes and knocked down the last three attempts she took to finish in double figures with 10.

The Eagles shot 11-for-15 from the free-throw line in the game, and were 8-of-9 in the fourth quarter, while Fresno Pacific went 11-for-21 from the same spot. 

Biola has one more regular season game left before the PacWest tournament and may be playing for the No. 3 seed when it hosts Concordia on Thursday night. The game will also include a Senior Night ceremony for BU's four seniors, which will be held before the opening tip at 5:30 p.m.