It was a rollercoaster night as the Beavers of Caltech braved
the downpour to travel cross-town to meet up with the Tigers of
Occidental. The opening tip started an up and down night and a ride
that left the Beavers shaking their heads, wondering what it was
all about. Oxy jumped out early and created a 7-0 buffer before the
Beavers were able to put numbers on the board and settle into a
rhythm. Tech was understandably thrown, as a last second change to
the starting line up was necessary. Frosh Sarah Wright's stomach
ailment forced her out of the line up and onto the bench to wait
out the discomfort. For only the second time this season, a
different five had to figure out the tough Oxy pressure and find a
way to score.
When Tech found its groove, they were good. The first half was
all about defense for the Beavers as they caught Oxy off guard and
forced a closer game than what the Tigers expected. Faced with an
even smaller bench then usual, the Beavers focused on the defensive
end of the floor and forced the Tiger attack to hiccup more than
once. Although Oxy shot well in the half, the Tigers had to work
hard to find the high percentage shots. Tech was able to post a
respectable shooting percentage, putting the ball in the basket 33%
of the time. Luckily Wright was able to tolerate some minutes,
giving the team relief when Krissy Dahl headed to the bench in foul
trouble. Off to the locker room, both teams were surprised by the
10-point game that separated them.
While the first half was the upswing on the rollercoaster
tracks, the second half was definitely the down swing. Oxy emerged
from the break ready to go and the Beavers couldn't respond.
Whether it was tired legs or the changes in personnel that fouls
and sickness forced, the Beavers were discombobulated in the
opening minutes and by the 17:00 tick the spread cleared the
20-point mark. Tech scrambled to try and make runs, but turnovers
grew and the inability to convert on shots left the Beavers chasing
Tiger dust for the half. Tech shot only 23% from the floor, and
although Oxy wasn't able to post the shooting percentage of the
first half, in was still high enough to keep them out front.
Senior Lisa Yee had a pair of 8's on her stat line to lead the
Beavers. Yee added the 8 points and 8 rebounds to her career stat
line, closing in on a number of Beaver career records as she winds
down her time in Caltech orange. Teri Juarez pulled down a game
high 13 rebounds for the evening, and Krissy Dahl continued her
defense of the paint with four blocks. Dahl is now 11 blocks away
from breaking her own single season block record set in her
inaugural year. With 9 games left on the calendar and Dahl
averaging 2 blocks per game, the record seems sure to fall.
Caltech hits the road again on Saturday to take on the Sagehens
of Pomona Pitzer. Tip off at Rains Athletic Center will be at 5pm,
with the men's team to follow at 7:30pm.
GO TECH!!!
BOXSCORE
