(LA MIRADA, Calif.) PLNU Women's Basketball suffered its first conference loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling to Biola on the road by a score of 71-58.
 
In a matchup of 2-0 teams in PacWest play, the Sea Lions trailed by just two at the half before the Eagles outscored Point Loma by 10 points in the third quarter to take a 12-point advantage going into the fourth.
 
PLNU managed to whittle down its deficit to just three after opening the final quarter on a 15-6 run. Point Loma scored the first seven points of the fourth period, as Annika Thayer's bucket and subsequent 3-point play sparked the Sea Lions' comeback bid.
 
Ellie Turk then drove the lane and got a lefty layup to go, making it a one-possession game with 4:53 remaining.
 
Biola threatened to pull away before Thayer scored in the paint to cut Point Loma's deficit to six with 1:24 on the clock.
 
But from there, the Eagles held the Sea Lions scoreless while hitting their free throws down the stretch as PLNU was forced to play the fouling game the rest of the way.
 
Point Loma scored more points in the paint (34-24) and points off turnovers (19-10) than Biola, but BU's 10-6 advantage in 3-pointers made proved to be a significant factor, as the Eagles held the Sea Lions to just 22.2% shooting from behind the arc.
 
Turk led PLNU with 16 points, followed by Allie Carreon's 12 and Haylee Saurette's 10. Thayer added seven points, eight rebounds and six assists.
 
Point Loma (4-6 overall, 2-1 PacWest) return to conference play on Saturday at 2:15 p.m., when the Sea Lions travel to take on No. 25 Azusa Pacific, the defending PacWest champions.