Claremont, CA - The Caltech beavers had tall order waiting for them at Ducey Gym in game two of the Caltech CMS Holiday Classic. In a battle of the Beavers, Caltech came up short. The Buena Vista University Beavers, regulars in the regional rankings, were coming off a loss to classic co-host CMS the night before, and the loss clearly left a sour taste with BVU. Although Caltech sunk the first basket, and managed to hang around through the first 5:00 of the game, the first substitution horn put a spotlight on the BVU advantage...depth. With three separate squads to bring in, BVU was able to platoon their bench, playing sixteen people to Caltech's eight.

The BVU roster features an All American, while the underdogs of Caltech had two players on the floor who had not played basketball before arriving on campus. The duo of Shannon Mohler and Kathryn Gunn saw their longest stint of the season, and showed their more experienced teammates what grit was all about. Part of the Caltech problem was the BVU press rattled and derailed the offensive pattern. The other Beavers forced Tech to turn the ball over for a season high of 45 turnovers. Caltech's confidence started to fade, but thanks to Gunn and Mohler, the runaway train on the Tech offensive end found the track and the Beavers settled into a rhythm. Both Gunn and Mohler ran their pattern like clock work and sparked a new sense of purpose within the offense.

With the offensive sets running and creating shots, the Beavers were able to find better looks and started to put them in the basket. Tech would finish with a lower than desired but still respectable shooting percentage of 34%.

Fire was with at least one player in Caltech orange. Teri Juarez had her second straight double double of the tourney, with a 14 point, 10 rebound night. In typical fashion the Texas tornado got to work under the rim, grabbing boards, finishing putbacks, and getting down right determined to put the ball into the basket. Juarez had a nose for the ball getting into the seams of the Buena Vista zone and manufactured shots that few players could finish. For her efforts, Juarez was awarded a spot on the All Tournament team.

Caltech takes a much needed rest for the week as players head home to enjoy some of the winter break with their families. Tech will be back in action at Braun Athletic Center on December 30th at 7pm against California State University Maritime.

GO TECH!!!

BOXSCORE