A rainy night and the longest trip of the SCIAC season didn't bode well for the Beavers of Caltech. Unfortunately for Caltech the stormy skies followed them from the parking lot and set up shop over the court at Currier gym last night as the Beavers fell to Redlands 35 to 82. From the start it was clear that the whistle wasn't going to favor Caltech. The opening minutes of the game proved close and the Beavers were within striking distance deep into the half. But each time the whistle blew it seemed to have Tech in its sights. But Tech kept pushing and working to get the score even. It was the 7:00 mark before the spread opened to double digits. The Redlands squad turned up the heat getting aggressive and when Caltech tried to answer, home court advantage favored the Bulldogs.

For Caltech a lopsided level of aggressive meant restrictions on their ability to take the chances they needed to stay in the game. The lack of depth kept the Beavers playing conservative, while the Bulldogs were able to build on their physical play and dominate the paint to control the game. At the 9:00 mark, Tech's presence in the middle, Krissy Dahl, was sidelined with three fouls while Redlands post Coutrney Carroll roamed free and unchecked. Still the Beavers held on and at the half time buzzer, Tech was down only 17 points.

Ready to rally in the second half, the Beavers opened with a bucket, but the Redlands posts returned to take advantage of the stranglehold the whistles were putting Tech under. Points in the paint for Redlands tallied 14 to Caltech's 4, and the second chance points gave the Bulldogs the edge of 13 to Tech's 2. Unable to gain position or take shots without contact, the Beavers grew tired and the absence of a platoon of reserves just put the Beavers farther and farther behind. The Redlands bench tossed in 28 points and Tech's bench came up empty. With the Bulldogs confidence growing, the swim upstream eventually got the best of the Beavers and they had to settle for their largest margin of the season with the loss.

Only Erin Hoops reached double digit scoring and led Tech with 13 on the night. A solid shooting hand gave Hoops perfection from the charity stripe, going six for six. She connected on one of her two shots from behind the three point line. Hoops' two assists leave her 9 shy of a single season assist record with four games remaining. Teri Juarez had the game high on the offensive boards. Her six was a game best, and with 10 rebounds overall, she led the Beavers on the glass.

The Beavers stay on the road this Thursday, visiting the Athenas of Claremont Mudd Scripps. The last time the two teams met, the Athenas edged out Tech by 13. It had been an 8 point game heading into the final two minutes. Tech had to resort to fouling to try and put the ball back in their possession, but it backfired as CMS stepped up and hit the shots it needed to put the game safely away. Tech hopes to avenge the loss at Ducey Gym. Tip off is at 7:30pm. Then the Beavers will return to Braun Athletic Center on Saturday to meet up with Occidental College. Saturday will bring the WBCA Pink Zone to Braun. The Pink Zone is a national campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness with over 1,100 schools participating nationwide.

GO TECH!!!

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