GOODYEAR, Ariz. --- It was a scorching day out in the desert with near 100-degree heat as Biola Women's Golf completed the second half of RJGA Palm Valley Classic at Palm Valley Golf Club.

Three of the five Eagles shot the same or better than their round one tallies as Biola carded a round two score of 309 to ultimately finish the tournament 10th of 20 teams. The 309 paired with yesterday's 304 helped Biola finish with a 613 overall and tie with Colorado Christian.

"t was great to be in a highly competitive D2 field," said Head Coach Jane Carr. "There was a time in Biola's history that if we had 7 of 8 scores in the 70's we thought we could win a tournament and we find ourselves in the middle of the pack in this tough field of competition."

The Eagles' final team score was just five strokes behind the team to finish seventh-place, Cameron (Okla.). The tournament field featured three ranked teams (No. 11 Texas A&M - Commerce, No. 21 West Texas A&M and No. 23 Biola), but it was unranked Point Loma that took the team title with an incredible second-day showing leading to a 582 (297-285).

Oklahoma Christian finished as runner-up with a two-day tally of 588 (300-288). Scores improved across the board for the most part among the leading teams on day two. Texas at Tyler, Western Washington and Biola were the only teams among the top-10 to see scores rise. 

Even with a bit of an increase on day two, Biola still recorded its second-best team score of the season in this tournament. Only the 602 at the Bay Area invitational topped what the team accomplished today in Arizona. 

Sami Penor was once again Biola's top individual scorer. She finished inside the top-10 in Biola's largest tournament field of the season (107 players). Penor was consistent as could be, following her round one of 73 with a second-round 73 to finish in a tie for seventh at two-over.

The 146 is the second-best two-day score of Penor's collegiate career. She shot her best, a 145, back in October 2018. 

"Sami continues to dominate with a +2 two day score that should have been even par. Round one she mistakenly hit teammate Rachel Reynolds ball to incur a two stroke penalty," said Carr. "Those things happen especially when you are playing with your own teammates, but in our minds she shot even par and is coming into her own. She is gaining the confidence to go under par and I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see that happen in the next few weeks."

Pars were the key to success for Penor on Saturday. All but five of her holes finished even. She had three bogeys and two birdies, including beginning the day with a bird as she teed off on hole 10. Shooting par was consistent up and down the lineup for Biola with three players among the top-12 in the tournament in total par holes. Rachel Reynolds was fourth overall with 26, Penor 9th with 25 and Mary Grace Davidson 12th with 24.

Jules Loibl and Sophia Karnazes joined Penor as the other two Eagles to either match or better their day one score with their effort on this sweltering Saturday. Karnazes hit 82 yesterday and bounced back with a 79 today, while Loibl improved a 79 to a 77 to finish her tournament 14 strokes better than her season debut two-and-a-half weeks ago. She was Biola's third-best scorer in the tournament, carding a 12-over 156 to finish in a tie for 44th.

It was the freshman, Davidson, to finish second behind Penor and help lead the team. She came out the gates with a season-best 74 on Friday and completed her tourney with an 80 on Saturday to finish tied for 32nd at 10-over (154). She improved her season scoring average a bit with her second-best finish on the season.

Reynolds, the team's leader in pars, had a steady tournament as well. She was the Eagles' No. 3 scorer with a 78 on Friday and No. 5 scorer with an 81 Saturday to finish fourth overall among BU's lineup with a two-day total of 159 (+15). Reynolds had a clean day with just five bogeys and 12 pars. However, hole 18 gave her fits and put a damper on the day with a four-over score.

Brady Turnquist shot two-under on par-5s throughout the tournament, which was third-best among all players. She had a great two days, scoring a 77 on day one and matching Penor's 73 on the second day to finish the event tied for 20th. 

Biola didn't get the credit for those scores, though, as Turnquist was entered in this tourney as an individual. The 73 was Turnquist's second-lowest individual round of her career and the combined tally of 150 (+6) was her second-best two-day score as well. Turnquist's tallies from rounds one and two would've been good enough to record a sixth-place finish for the Eagles (8-stroke improvement).

"We have such a competitive top-5 players that our individuals continue to prove that they deserve to represent this team. We have been fortunate to be able to bring an individual to almost every tournament this spring," said Carr. "This continues to keep all of our players competitive and give our freshmen more experience. Brady is a fighter and wants to be contributing to the team not riding along as an individual. I couldn't be prouder of her Top-20 finish."

The Eagles will put this tournament behind them quickly to turn their attention to the final regular-season tournament of this 2021 season. They stay in Arizona and tomorrow will play the practice round for Monday and Tuesday's West Texas A&M Desert Invite. Follow that tournament live on Golfstat at http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=21125.