LA MIRADA, Calif. - Looking to start the season 2-0 for the second time under third-year head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan the Concordia University Irvine women's basketball team battled California State University Los Angeles and came away with 57-48 victory.

Sophomore guard Jasmine Rachal, coming off a career afternoon where she dropped 30 points, struggled early but shook off the slow start to score double figures for the thirteenth straight game dating back to last season.  She finished with 11.

Michaela VanderKlugt, who by her standards has gotten off to a slow start this season, was able to shake off the offseason rust and return to form.  She bounced back in game number two, dropping a double double, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds. 

""I needed to find areas on the court that I knew I would be successful in," said VanderKlugt.  "Once I got comfortable in the post I was able to find my rhythm. My teammates gave me good post feeds and all I had to do was finish.  The game changed for us when we were able to get out and run in transition. Those easy buckets shifted the momentum in our favor and we did not look back."

With both teams struggling to score the first half turned into a defensive battle.  The Eagles defense held the CSULA offense to 18% shooting from the floor. This gave the Eagles a 23-18 lead heading into the locker room.

The Eagles looked to get the ball inside, as Kennedy Fulcher had six points and VanderKlugt had four at the break.  Rachal lead all Eagles at the half with seven.

To open the second half the Eagles got a quick layup from VanderKlugt off a brilliant feed from Rachal.  This sparked a quick 6-0 run, which was enough to fuel the Eagles to hold on until the end.   

Freshman Lainie James came off the bench and provided some huge minutes in the second half.  She had a timely three and hit a layup as time expired to end the third quarter. Giving the Eagles a 41-30 lead heading into the final quarter.  

CSULA kept things interesting in the fourth quarter but the Eagles found a way to close out the game and win, something they struggled with last year.  They were able to contain CSULA guard Sydney Bordonaro to 4-18 shooting, a day after she dropped 21 against Biola.

Sophomore guard Katie Timmerman, who was coming off a career high 18 points yesterday, was pleased with her team's ability to close out the game.  

"We have definitely become more mature and learned from our experiences last year," said Timmerman.  "Our leadership and ability to react and stay together through whatever the other team throws as us has been key in us closing out games. Also, we've remained level headed through the adversity and trust in all the work we've put in in & out of practice."

The Eagles defense locked up when it counted, holding CSULA to 24% from the field for the entire game.  With still room to improve the coach Collins-Kiernan is impressed with what she has seen in the last two games.  

"These last two days were definitely a test of residency and consistency," said Collins-Kiernan.  "We learned today that people can fill different roles. The biggest thing I liked about today was that everybody was controlling what we could control. We controlled the game defensively and made every shot a contested shot. We limited them to one shot just about every possession of the game controlling the boards. We stayed in the fight and did not get discouraged."

The Eagles are back in action Friday November 15 as they take on California State University Humboldt for their home opener.  Click here for a full schedule.