PASADENA, Calif. (Feb. 13, 2010) - The conference leading black
and orange used five players double digit scoring nights to
knockoff the upstart Beavers. Caltech has gotten better and
better over the past two years, and it showed tonight, as they
played one of their best games of the season. But it wasn't
enough as the Tigers spread out the offense and won for the
11th straight time, by the final score of 71-62.
Oxy controlled much of the first half, up by as many as 20
points, but Caltech kept chipping away. Stephanie
Babij helped build the lead with 10 points while
Samantha Rossi followed with nine of her own, over
the first 20 minutes. The Beavers would not go away quietly,
ending the half on an 11-2 run, to cut the lead to 11.
Helping fuel that late run, was the dominance displayed on the
glass by the home team, as Caltech held a 19-10 rebounding
edge. The Tigers shot a blazing 57.7% from the field handing
out 10 assists on 15 baskets. But the Beavers were not far
behind, shooting 46.2% from the field, but 13 first half turnovers
kept them from ever staying within single digits.
The host team stayed hot, even though they came out of the
locker room trailing 42-31. Limiting their turnovers to start
the half, allowed the Beavers to keep cutting into the lead, which
they chopped to four with over 12 minutes left to play in
regulation.
That was as close as they would come, as the Tigers countered
with a quick 11-3 run, and kept the Beavers at bay for the rest of
the night. Although Erin Hoops would not let her squad go
down quietly, as she finished with a game 27 points, but could not
single handedly upend Oxy.
Being able to attack in so many ways keyed the victory tonight,
as not only did Rossi and Babij finish with 12 points apiece, but
Gillian Nugent continued to be the x factor off
the bench with a team high 13 points, while Dior
Williams chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.
The backcourt also came up big, as Laura Mohler
added 11 points to compliment the game high 10 assists handed out
by Britinee Yasukochi.
Oxy (19-4, 11-1) still holds a one game lead over Cal Lutheran
and Redlands, as both teams sit in a second place tie with
identical conference of records of 10-2 and 18-5 overall.
The black and orange will now have a chance to clinch at least a
share of a third consecutive regular season title with a win over
the University of La Verne in front of their home crowd on
Thursday, February 18th, tipoff at 7:30pm.
Article written by Mike Talamantes, Sports Information
Assistant
