LA MIRADA, Calif. — The University of La Verne women's basketball team could not overcome a size disadvantage against NAIA Biola and lost, 87-37, on Wednesday night at Chase Gymnasium.
La Verne opens the season 0-1 and Biola improves to 4-1.
Eight players got on the board and five players scored at least five points for La Verne but the Leopards could not negate Biola's physical advantage. The Eagles started three 6-footers—taller than any Leopard on the roster—across the front court and La Verne had no answer. The three forwards—Mikayla Greens, Joclyn Kirton and Emma Newman—combined to outscore and outrebound the Leopards by themselves. Kirton had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Newman had 12 and six, and Greens tallied nine points and seven rebounds.
Bailey Kurahashi led the Leopards with eight points and also grabbed four rebounds. Madison Rubino and Noelle Cobb each notched six points and five rebounds. Mackenzie Bell and Faye Osburn chipped in five points each.
Facing a scholarship team is always a tall task for an NCAA Division III team and even more so when it's the first game of a new season after graduating two of the best players in recent memory as La Verne has. La Verne head coach Julie Shaw used the game to get an extended look at her young team, with nine players receiving double-digit minutes.
The Leopards face another tough opponent on Saturday, traveling to NAIA No. 14 Master's. The tipoff at 4 p.m.