LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Women's Basketball got off to another fast start in its second contest of 2021, taking a huge first-quarter lead. However, a blowout third-quarter for the visiting Azusa Pacific Cougars helped them flip the game on its head en route to an eventual 66-63 Cougars' win.
It was the 2021 PacWest Conference opener and the first Cornerstone Cup (presented by West Coast Sand & Gravel) matchup of the COVID-19 era. The loss drops the Eagles to 1-1 overall while APU improves to 1-0 (1-0 PacWest).
Biola outscored the visitors 13-7 in the first quarter, which could have been an even wider advantage if not for some lackluster free throw shooting. BU struggled at the line throughout the afternoon, shooting just 6-for-17 from the stripe.
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"Our defense is amazing. We scramble, we hustle, we press. Honestly, APU didn't know what to do," said
Aysia Johnson. "We were just everywhere. I think eventually, APU was starting to catch on and they calmed down a bit for sure.  We just had a hard time transitioning from that press to a normal defense."
The second quarter was the most competitive, and most explosive, of the afternoon as the two teams combined for 45 points to hand Biola a 34-31 halftime lead.
Aysia Johnson was the one to pace the effort throughout the night. In the first 20 minutes she shot 4-for-6 and led the team with 9 points.Â
The third quarter was the difference maker as APU managed a 22-10 advantage to swing the game wildly in their advantage. Azusa made 50 percent of their shots in that third quarter, going 9-for-18 from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Their spark plug was Kayla Shaw, who ended the game as the leading scorer on the floor with 19 points in 38 minutes. She was 6-for-13 overall.
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Biola, which lives and dies by the three-point shot, was able to get back into the game, even after trailing by as much as nine points. After a back-and-forth first nine minutes of the fourth the Eagles had the ball with just under 10 seconds left staring at the 66-63 disadvantage.
"I was curious to see how we would respond. It was exciting to see us really pull together and increase our teamwork and energy on defense and increase our points and play like a team on the offense," said Head Coach
Alan Nakamura.
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The Eagles could not get a clean look from outside or inside in the final possession and time expired to give APU the win.
"The last play didn't turn out the way it was supposed to for sure. We have a lot to learn from this game and polish," said Nakamura.
Johnson ended up leading the Eagles with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting. She also led the team in rebounding with eight boards. Biola led the rebounding battle 43-41. Madi Chang (6) and Abigail Laberge (5) were also in on that effort on the regular.
Stephanie Lee was the only other double-digit scorer for BU, going for 13 with a team-high three three-pointers. Biola fired off 31 three-point attempts on the day, but converted on only nine. The Eagles shot just 36 percent from the field overall, a number they'll certainly look to improve on as they play APU at Azusa on Saturday.
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The second half of this home-and-home will tip-off at 2 p.m. on January 23rd. Follow the game with a live stream at https://athletics.apu.edu/watch/?Live=124&type=Live.
