Photo by Bob Paz

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 9, 2016) – Junior Kate Lewis (San Antonio, Texas / Ronald Reagan) and senior Stephanie Wong (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) turned in yet another pair of spectacular performances for Caltech women's basketball at Occidental College on Saturday night.

Despite the Beavers' 73-59 defeat, Lewis and Wong combined for 39 points on 14-of-25 shooting as Caltech outscored the hosts in both the second and fourth quarters.  The Tigers rode an edge-point edge in the first quarter and 15-point advantage in the third to improve to 4-8 overall and 1-2 in the SCIAC while the Beavers fall to 2-10 (0-3).

Wong hit the game's opening basket with a three-pointer just over a minute into play and a tight battle commenced.  Lewis put the Beavers back on top after a pair of Oxy jumpers and tied the game with another layup at the 5:10 mark.  The Tigers picked up the pace down the stretch, however, and outscored the Beavers 15-7 through the end of the first quarter to lead, 22-14. 

Caltech bounced back quickly to pull within two thanks to another period-opening triple by Wong and six unanswered points from Lewis to make it 25-23.  The Tigers rattled off a 10-3 run to regain some breathing room, but Wong and Lewis chipped away at the lead to make it a four-point game at 41-37 by halftime.

Oxy had the run of things early in the third quarter, netting nine straight points while the Beavers could only muster two free throws over the first 5:25.  The Tigers led 64-45 after three until Caltech posted a 14-9 edge in the fourth quarter – once again kicked off by a three-pointer from Wong – but the final score would read 73-59 in the hosts' favor.

Wong led all scorers with 20 points, including a 3-for-7 effort from long range, while Lewis added 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.  Freshman Nika Haleftiras (San Diego, Calif. / Our Lady of Peace) chipped in eight points and rookie Madeline Schemel (Westport, Conn. / Staples) came off the bench to net eight on a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.

Head Coach Sandra Marbut and the Beavers host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (9-4, 4-0) on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.