ALAMEDA, Calif.---The Biola women's golf team improved by four strokes in their second round of the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout which allowed them to move up the leaderboard to ninth of 16 teams with a combined team score of 622.

"We knew coming into this tournament that we were facing a strong field with some highly ranked CCAA schools," stated head coach Jane Carr. "Our goal today was to move up the leaderboard and try to overcome all the PacWest schools in the field. Even though we didn't play our best golf today we still beat three PacWest teams and came within six strokes of Point Loma. I felt good about how we finished. Our freshmen really came through when we needed them this tournament. They are learning a lot and gaining incredible competitive experience."

After the first round, Biola was tied for 10th with Western Washington with a team score of 313. The Eagles ended up edging the Vikings in the second round by just a stroke, recording 309 to WWU's 310, which slid Biola into ninth place.

Biola beat two of the three other PacWest Conference team's in attendance. The Eagles were two strokes ahead of 11th-place Dominican (624) and 19 strokes in front of T12 ART U (641). Point Loma finished in eighth with a team score of 616, just six strokes better than BU. However, the Eagles did one stroke better than PLNU in their second round, carding 309 while Point Loma carded 310.

Cal State East Bay edged CSULA by one stroke to win the invitational with a combined team score of 592. CSULA took second place with a score of 593 and George Fox and Sonoma State rounded out third (597).

Theresa Shaw recorded Biola's lowest second round, recording three-above-par 75. Shaw cut off an impressive seven strokes from her first round score to slide into T38 on the leaderboard. She also scored two birdies.

"Theresa Shaw had a great bounce back from round one," exclaimed Carr. "She has such a passion to contribute to this team and that kept her extremely focused today. She was just steady out there. Theresa is always positive and takes that with her to the course."

Brady Turnquist led Biola overall with a combined score of 154 which tied her for 27th. Following Turnquist was Melanie Reyes (T32, 156), Theresa Shaw (T38, 157), Hailey Hays (T41, 158) and Rachel Shaw (T47, 159).

"Brady didn't have her best tournament," Carr reflected. "She was striking the ball so well, but struggling with getting putts to drop. She is an incredible athlete who inspires this team to be better. Always a fighter she will come out even stronger next tournament. She always does!"

Hays and Rachel Shaw also showed improvement in their second rounds. Hays recorded two strokes less than her first round and Rachel Shaw scored three less than her first. 

Carr commented, "The back nine were challenging for us this week. I was incredibly impressed with freshman Hailey Hays who started on hole 11 today and made the turn at seven over par after eight holes of play. That type of a start would rattle most people, but she was able to go one under over the next 10 holes to end the day six over. That takes patience and a great deal of resilience. Hailey showed incredible poise after a frustrating start."

Ortiz competed as an individual and had a great second round where she shaved off seven strokes from her first round score. The Junior recorded 84 in her first round and then 77 in her second. Ortiz had the second-most birdies in the field in her second round, recording five. 

Next up for Biola is the Fujikura Invitational which begins Monday, Mar. 11 at the Shadowridge Golf Club.