It came down to free throws in tonight's school rivalry matchup between #2 Westmont Women's Basketball (22-3, 11-1 GSAC) and the Eagles of Biola (13-14, 6-7). In the final minute and a half of the game, the Warriors made eight free throws to turn a three point lead into a 60-52 victory over the Eagles.

Even though the Eagles had both a higher overall shooting percentage (36.5) and three-point field goal percentage (42.9), the Warriors' success from the free throw line proved to be vital in today's victory. The Warriors shot at 94.4 percent from the free throw line making 17 of 18 attempts.

The Warriors started off strong when in the first minute of the game they embarked upon an 11-point run to take a 14 to three lead. The run consisted of a three-pointer by junior Aimee Brakken, a layup by junior Aysia Shellmire, a three-pointer by Karr, and a layup and the subsequent free-throw by sophomore Lauren McCoy.

The Eagles held their own, however, when they answered with a ten-point run to pull within a point to finish out the quarter (13-14). This run consisted of a layup by Jessica Shill, a three-pointer by Danielle Kennedy, a free-throw and layup by Demoria White, and a jump shot by Tina Esbenshade.

The second quarter consisted of tough defense on both sides and back and forth scoring; the half ended with the Eagles ahead by a score of 25-24.

Throughout the third quarter both team's sought to pull more significantly ahead, however the quarter ended with Westmont in the lead by only one point (39-38).

The two teams were tied 41-41 until halfway into the fourth quarter when Demoria white of Biola hit a three-pointer. However, thirty seconds later Karr answered with a three-pointer of her own that was the start of a critical eight-point run for the Warriors (49-44). Following Karr's three-pointer were layups by Shellmire and McCoy, with McCoy adding on a free throw.

These three Warriors all shot in double figures – Karr had 18 points and McCoy and Shellmire each had 12.

Head coach Kirsten Moore shared her thoughts about tonight's game:

"I am super proud of my team's persistence tonight," noted Moore. "Biola played really tough and things weren't coming easily tonight especially on the offensive end of the floor. But we stuck with it and made some big plays. McCoy was fighting the flu yet showed incredible toughness and came through with two big plays down the stretch. Krissy hit some huge shots and everyone stepped to the free throw line and knocked down shots with confidence.

"It will be great to have a few days to recover after this one in preparation for our huge game against Masters on Thursday for first place in conference."

With only four conference games left, the Warriors will host #10 The Master's (22-3, 12-1) this coming Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Results of other GSAC games played tonight: Arizona Christian defeated San Diego Christian 69-54, #9 Vanguard defeated Menlo 71-66, and The Master's defeated Hope International 67-52.