PASADENA, Calif. (Dec. 3, 2022) – With a strong start and a resilient finish aided by some stellar individual efforts, the Caltech women's basketball team withstood a second half rally by Whittier College for an exhilarating 61-54 victory Saturday afternoon at Braun Gymnasium. The victory was Caltech's third in a row and the second straight win against SCIAC opponents, marking the team's best-ever start of conference play.

The visiting Poets scored first and led for most of the opening five minutes of the contest, but a 14-2 run by the Beavers put them ahead by seven, sparked by a fast break layup by sophomore Kathryn Edwards and capped by a three-point swish by junior Sahana Saikumar. Sophomore Kodie Vondra then drained a three in the last minute of the quarter and Caltech led 22-14 at the break.

Caltech held on to their lead through the second quarter and Eshani Patel added to the scoring festivities with perfectly-placed jumper to keep the Beavers on top, helping power ahead to a 32-25 halftime lead. Whittier rallied in the third quarter as the Beavers struggled to find the hoop as the Poets' shooters started heating up, fighting all the way back to a 35-35 tie with 3:55 left in the third frame. Caltech would regain the lead on a pair of free throws by sophomore Saumya Chauhan, but Whittier won the quarter 16-8 and earned a 41-40 lead through three quarters.

Saikumar led the charge early in the fourth, scoring the first seven Caltech points of the quarter. Chauhan and Edwards followed with points of their own, and Vondra hit her fourth three-pointer of the game to put the Beavers up by nine with under three minutes to go. Whittier would not give up, narrowing their deficit to just three points with 19 seconds left in regulation. There simply wasn't enough time to come all the way back, as Caltech's crisp ball movement kept the seconds ticking down as the Poets desperately needed to commit fouls to stop the clock.

Vondra's breakout performance led the Beavers in scoring with a season-high 20 points, and Saikumar earned her second double-double in as many games, dropping 17 points and collecting a game-high 15 rebounds. Edwards racked up 15 points despite being benched early in the second half due to some early foul calls, and junior Milan Robinson served up seven assists, grabbed a pair of steals and never committed a turnover.

"Kodie did so great, and it is a testament to the time she puts in at the gym," Head Coach Annie Tarakchian said, also crediting Caltech's success to Vondra's consistent defensive effort. "Our team is locked in on defense. Katy and Sahana are consistent in what they do and our gards are doing their part on both ends."

The Beavers are off for finals week, and will resume play on Friday, Dec. 16 against Lewis & Clark College.