IRVINE, Calif. - The Concordia University women's basketball team moved to 8-5 overall and 6-2 in PacWest play with a 63-57 victory over Biola University.  

With both teams struggling to score early in the first quarter (the first basket was scored two minutes and fifty-eight seconds into the game), it was the Eagles from Biola who broke out of their rut the quickest, taking a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Sophomore guard Katie Timmerman kept Concordia within striking distance, hitting three of her six three pointers in the first quarter.  

"Offensively my teammates set me up with some nice in-rhythm shots that helped me get going," said Timmerman.  "Once the defense collapsed on them, I made sure I got in their vision ready to shoot and they delivered some great kickouts."

Concordia won every quarter from there on out and controlled the game on both ends of the floor.  

Concordia commanded the glass, outrebounding Biola by 12 (44-32).  Junior forwards Michaela VanderKlugt and Kennedy Fulcher each grabbed 13 rebounds.

Timmerman led all scorers with 18.  She has not been shooting the ball well as of late but did not let that affect her and it showed.

"I knew it didn't define me as a shooter and that my shot was due to fall," said Timmerman.  "I came into this game feeling good and a lot looser than the past two and refocused my mind to trusting all the preparation I've put in over the years perfecting my shot.  A big part of it came from my teammates and coaches having my back too. They always encourage me or hype me up to keep shooting and focus on the next shot."

Sophomore guard Jasmine Rachal joined Timmerman in double figures with ten.  While Rachal struggled from the floor, she doled out a season-high seven assists, leading to 16 points for Concordia.

"I'm really happy that we won that game," said Rachal.  "It feels great to start this tough week of games 2-0. We have matured so much this season and we are getting better every night.  We know what we do well and work on the things that we need to improve on. We have to stay true to what we know how to do in order to win big games down the stretch, and that's exactly what we did tonight. Now we gotta do it again against another good team on Saturday!"

With Concordia only going seven deep it is vital to get positive production from the bench.  Concordia's bench outscored Biola 16-15.

Freshman forward Savannah Felix-Amoroso was in double figures for the first time in her career (10).  She was very efficient , going 4-5 from the floor and 2-3 from the free throw line.

Freshman guard Lainie James dominated the boards, grabbing nine defensive rebounds while hitting two timely threes on the offensive end to finish with six points. 

Head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan knows how important all of her players are to the team's success, whether they start the game or start on the bench.

"Loving each other and being vulnerable has been our strength," said Collins-Kiernan.  "Our camaraderie is the byproduct of that strength and we work on it everyday, as much as closing out and blocking out. If this is not fun, if we are not in search of joy at the end of the day, why are we doing this? It is hard to build, hard to sustain, but the rewards are great!"

Concordia is posed to take on the Sea Lions of Point Loma Nazarene University on Saturday.  The Sea Lions are half a game up on Concordia in the standings with a record of 7-2.