AZUSA, Calif. – Getting together with old acquaintances is a time usually reserved for relaxing. Tuesday evening was anything but that as Biola and Azusa Pacific renewed pleasantries.
Biola started strong and did enough in the second half to hold off the Cougars in posting a 74-69 win on Tuesday evening
After playing each other as nearby and conference rivals for 31 straight years, the Cougars and Biola took a brief hiatus as Azusa Pacific transitioned to NCAA. Soon enough the annual rivalry will be renewed as the Eagles have begun the move from the NAIA to NCAA.
For the third straight game Gabrielle Kaiser led the Cougars in scoring with a 21-point evening. The junior also posted a team highs in rebounds (7) and steals (5) in 30 minutes.
The double figure scorers were rounded out with Tara Casey's 13 points and Abigail Goodsell's 10.
Biola started the contest by scoring 13 of the first 16 points which forced the Cougars into an early timeout. Azusa Pacific trimmed that deficit down to six points on one occassions but couldn't pull any closer as the visitors eventually took a 22-14 lead after the opening quarter. In addition to helping her team commit no turnovers in building that lead, guard DeMoria White scored 12 points.
The future PacWest foe continued to hold their double figure edge as the second quarter unfolded. Azusa Pacific pulled within single digits for two possessions, but Biola (7-3) connected on 10 of their 15 field goal attempts during the frame as they stretch their advantage to 46-34 at the halftime break.
Biola's shooting cooled off and the Cougars got their deficit to a workable margin. Tara Casey hit three shots from behind the arc in the third period as the Cougars pulled with 54-48 with just under four minutes left in the frame. With 30 seconds left Rachel Bozlee hit her third field goal from distance and the Cougars found themselves down just three points (59-56). However a three-point play from White with 1.5 seconds gave the Eagles a 62-56 lead heading into the last 10 minutes.
Neither team had a strong grasp of the fourth quarter in the early going. The Cougars started to grab control after another Casey shot from distance brought her team within 68-65 with 4:16 left and when March converted a pair of foul shots with 1:26 left, Azusa Pacific (3-7) had their deficit down to two points (71-69).
Azusa Pacific had a possession to tie or take the lead but Biola forced them into their 16th turnover with 20 seconds left. White went to the charity stripe for the Eagles and calmly nailed both shots to increase the visitors lead to 73-69 with 17.2 seconds left. Azusa Pacific couldn't pull any closer as the Eagles salted the game away at the foul line.
White scored a game high 34 points on the strength of a 13-for-21 effort from the field. The guard also had four steals in 34 minutes.
