Sparks were flying and the Caltech Beavers were conducting
electricity in Braun Athletic Center this evening as they took on
the Tigers of Occidental. Coming into the game, the Beavers hopes
were simple and humble...find the game they had misplaced before
mid terms and get back on track. The last two outings hadn't been
what the Beavers wanted, and left them feeling a void in their
game. Both Redlands and CMS spanked Tech on the road, so the
Beavers were happy to be back at Braun and looked for the energy of
home to show them the way. It worked and the Beavers were proud of
what they left on the court.
From the moment Tech stepped on the floor to warm up their
energy was high. Bursting out of the locker room loud and bent on
making this a game, the last place Beavers didn't shrink at the
sight of the first place Tigers. In fact, Tech gathered stones to
hurl at the Goliath of Oxy. Relentless on defense, Tech established
early that they meant business. Cutters had to change their path,
shooters had a hand in their face, and rebounders were rejected
when they tried to find the ball off the rim. Oxy's
advantage...their stone cold belief they would find a way to score.
Tech was there at every turn, but Oxy rose to the occasion and hit
shots they needed to keep them above water. From the get go, Oxy
was in the driver's seat, but Caltech kept coming back, kept making
it a game.
Tech defined perserverance. The gap opened to 20 at one point,
and Tech came back and got within 11 to go into halftime. In the
second half, Oxy again surged forcing the gap open to 15, and
minutes later Tech had it back at 4 points. The tigers manufactured
the shots to spread it to 17, but Tech wasn't going away and
returned the scoreboard to a 9 point deficit on the final buzzer.
The 9 point difference is the closest Caltech has come to
Occidental since the program started back in 1995.
Both teams put on a shooting clinic in the first half with
Caltech shooting a fantastic 47% from the floor while Oxy capped
57% of their attempts. The back and forth of the first half left
both teams with less in their legs, as Oxy shot 27% and Tech had
the slight advantage shooting 30% in round two. Long range shots
came up about even for the teams, with Tech finishing a solid 44%
to Oxy's 45% for threes. The free throw line played out in an even
closer dead heat, with both teams shooting 72% from the line.
Points in the paint followed the game's party line, with both teams
finding 20 points from shots in the lane.
The biggest edge for the Tigers was points from Tech's
turnovers. Although 21 turnovers is less than optimal, it was 9
lower than Tech's season average. The Beavers missed their
connection enough to provide Occidental with 24 points off
turnovers and reciprocated with only provided 9 point for Tech. But
before leaving the balance sheet on the table, Tech one upped Oxy
on the glass. Caltech pulled in 44 boards to Oxy's 30. The Beavers
were able to grab as many offensive boards as Oxy had defensive. In
most games, teams strongly favor the defensive boards, but Caltech
was able to get 18 on the offensive end and 26 on defense.
Tech's rebel yell came loud and clear from point guard Erin
Hoops. Hoops came out on fire, hitting 3 of 5 from three point
range in the first half. She cooled slightly for the second period,
but still finished by sinking 4 of 9 for the night from behind the
arc. A perfect 9 for 9 from the line, Hoops was the game's leading
scorer with her career high of 27 points. She even did the job on
the boards, pulling down 5 rebounds. As if she hadn't done enough,
she handed out two assists and is now only 6 assists away from
tying the single season assist record with two games left on the
schedule. Averaging 3 assists per game, she is right on track to
put her name into the record books.
Lisa Yee registered a double double on the night, with 13 points
and 12 rebounds of her own. Yee chases the record for career double
doubles going into her final week of intercollegiate competition.
Yet still another Beaver stepped up with a better than usual
performance. Hoi Yee Nam went 2 for 3 from the floor and grabbed 6
rebounds. Standing at only 5'4", Nam broke up more than one Oxy
plan with her aerial display, flying through the air to get a hand
on the ball against much taller players.
It was a great game for Tech to remember how to do their thing,
as they look ahead for the final home game of the season. Thursday
Tech welcomes Pomona Pitzer to Braun Athletic Center. Tech is
anxious in anticipation for the match up, as the Beavers were able
to beat the Sagehens by 15 on the road at Pomona in their first
meeting. It will be senior night with a short pre game ceremony
start at 7:30pm with the tip-off to immediately follow.
GO TECH!!!
BOXSCORE
