ATHERTON, CA – It was a bit of satisfying déjà vu for Menlo Women's Basketball on Valentine's Day as the Oaks battled Biola, a team they had defeated in overtime one week prior, into an extra period once again where the result was the same. Career performances were the story as a 78-74 Pacific West Conference victory was led by the tandem of senior guard Jayonnah Carter and graduate student forward Frida Schmidt.

Oaks Highlights
-Jayonnah Carter dropped a career-high 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field with six assists, four rebounds, and three steals
-Also finishing with a career-high of 18 points, Frida Schmidt knocked down four triples and grabbed five rebounds
-Laila Saenz continued the trend, ending with career-highs of nine rebounds and six steals

Four Players With Double-Digit Points Carry Menlo To Victory
When they weren't converting at the foul line early on, the Oaks were busy building an 11-4 lead with seven points coming from Carter and Schmidt. Sophomore forward Taylor Westbrook came off the bench to help in the free throw scoring as Menlo went 9-for-10 there in the opening quarter, up 19-14.

The Oaks, who were in front by seven only briefly in the second frame, had Biola staying within striking distance for the remainder of the half as even an 8-3 push (almost entirely all on points from Carter) ended with Menlo in front 32-27 at the break.

A difference of eight points was soon seen following five quick points from Schmidt in the first minutes of the second half, however, BU countered with nine unanswered. The game of runs continued with a 6-0 burst by the Oaks that included a 3-pointer by Carter, but the Eagles managed to claw back to tie things up 54-54 early in the fourth quarter.

Graduate student guard Laila Saenz hit a triple to spark an 8-0 surge yet 10 of the contest's next 12 points came on Biola's side to retie the score at 64-64. Schmidt's fourth triple of the afternoon seemed to have Menlo in prime winning position until BU's own 3-pointer with 14 seconds left knotted the game at 69-69, eventually forcing overtime.

Much like the week prior, the Oaks were strong right away to start the extra five minutes as Carter had four quick points then senior guard Alberte Frisch nailed a clutch triple with the shot clock winding down. Frisch added free throws in the waning seconds to seal the 78-74 triumph.

"I'm glad we were able to gut these two games out in overtime both times, but the outcome was the same and we took the win," Carter said. "The energy was high from the beginning and everyone was feeling the love."

Coach Spataro Reaches 300-Win Milestone
The day's victory marked the 300th in the Menlo career of Head Coach Shannon Spataro. Holding the most wins by any coach in Menlo College Athletics history, Coach Spataro has guided the Oaks to 13 winning seasons since debuting with the program in 2008.

Up Next
Still with postseason hopes alive as the eight seed in the PacWest standings, the Oaks will have just one day away from competition before hosting Westmont at 2 p.m. back inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion on Feb. 16.

"We really have to lock in for the next few games – come out strong, rebound, play aggressive defense, and score the ball," Carter said.