LA MIRADA---The 2024-25 season will be an exciting year for the Biola Women's Basketball program. The Eagles are under new leadership and have four talented newcomers joining a strong returning roster of 10.

The Eagles, coming off a 15-14 overall record and a sixth-place PacWest Conference finish, were ranked eighth by the PacWest's coaches in the 2024-25 preseason poll. BU returns one all-conference selection in redshirt-Senior Laila Walker. 

Mike Simonson enters his first season as the Eagles' head coach and is eager to begin the season.

"I am so excited to coach this team," exclaimed Simonson. "They are extremely intelligent and have been picking up a new system very well. We are a team with a lot of experience. Some characteristics that suit us well are our shooting ability and love for competition. Our practices have been very gritty, as we compete in almost every drill. These women represent what it is to be a Biola student-athlete, as they are committed to their faith, academics, and their sport." 

Simonson continued, "On the court, you will see a team that plays tough hard-nosed defense and executes a high I.Q. passing offense that will create many backdoor opportunities and produce balanced scoring."

"I can't wait to showcase what these ladies are capable of," concluded Simonson "We will be playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the West Region because we have aspirations to play late into March."

Biola's four newcomers include an even split of two transfers and two freshmen. Emily Cruz is a sophomore transfer from St. Andrews University and Sammie Henley is a senior transfer from CSU San Bernardino. The two freshmen are Janiek Wesseling from The Netherlands and Siara Bracey from San Diego, California.
 

2024-25 BIOLA WOMEN'S NEWCOMERS
NAME	POS.	YR.	HOMETOWN	PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Sammie Henley	G	r-Sr.	Ventura, Calif.	Cal State San Bernardino
Emily Cruz	G	So.	San Bruno, Calif.	St. Andrews Univ.
Janiek Wesseling	F	Fr.	Apeldoorn, The Netherlands	Centre for Sports and Education
Siara Bracey	G	Fr.	San Diego, Calif.	Desert Pines

Sammie Henley
Simonsons' thoughts on Henley: "Sammie is a coach's daughter with a high IQ for the game. In our few weeks together, she has shown an incredible work ethic and ability to shoot the ball. She is someone who understands the game and never takes a play off. Without any prior knowledge of our team, you would never know it is her first year at Biola because she is already engrained into our team and Biola culture."

Emily Cruz
Simonsons' thoughts on Cruz: "Emily loves basketball, she has a passion for the game that is deep rooted. She is well rounded player that can score, rebound and defend. She is a someone who is genuine and fun to be around, while still being competitive on the court. She has a year of college experience under her belt, which will suit her well in her transition to Biola University."

Janiek Wesseling 
Simonsons' thoughts on Wesseling: "Janiek is a skilled player that can play multiple positions. She can shoot the three as well play inside. She is a player that flew all the here from the Netherlands because she wanted to be in a Christian environment. She will grow mightily in our environment here at Biola."

Siara Bracey
Simonsons' thoughts on Bracey: "Siara is a wonderful person who has zest about her and a genuine love for life. She is very talented and can effect the game both rebounding and with her finishing at the rim. Being a person with California ties, she is familiar with our area and the Biola mission. Siara will have a great career."

The Eagles' first game of the 2024-25 season is an exhibition contest on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. against La Sierra at Chase Gymnasium.