Photo by: Justin Hyon, Caltech Yearbook

CLAREMONT, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2022) – The Caltech women's basketball team triumphed over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Monday night, upsetting the Athenas 67-62 in a fast-paced offensive game. The win brings the Beavers' conference game record to 4-8 and overall season record to 9-11. Junior Sahana Saikumar (Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia) led the Beavers with a total of 23 points, followed by rookie Kathryn Edwards (Centennial, Colo. / Arapahoe) with 17 points and sophomore Hope Arnett (Torrance, Calif. / Chadwick School) with 12.

The Beavers started off strong and left the Athenas scoreless for the first 2:30 of the game. At 8:44, sophomore Katherine Marquis (Tewksbury, Mass. / Phillips Academy Andover) was the first to score for the Beavers, creating momentum for the rest of the game's point accumulation. Caltech maintained a lead over the Athenas in the first quarter with four points each from Saikumar and Edwards. With 3:35 minutes remaining in the first quarter, Arnett made two jump shots that would give the Beavers a lead of 16-12 going into the second quarter.

Ten seconds into the second quarter, Arnett made a layup with an assist from Edwards. A minute later, Saikumar was fouled and sent to the free-throw line, where she made one out of her two shots. At 7:33, Saikumar made a jump shot, increasing the Beaver's lead over the Athenas to nine at 21-12. Despite failing to score until 7:17, the Athenas fought back and held the Beavers to scoring just nine points in the second quarter. Going into halftime, the Beavers were down by four with a score of 25-29.

The third and fourth quarters saw two aggressive teams fight back and forth, with the scoring margin remarkably close. Thirty seconds into the third quarter, at 9:33, Saikumar made a jump shot that brought the score to 27-29. The remainder of the quarter kept the score within a three-point margin. The third quarter ended with the Beavers closing the gap on the Athenas with a score of 45-46 as they entered the fourth and final period.

With just over four minutes of play left in the game, Edwards forced a turnover after an offensive rebound and brought the momentum back to the Beavers. The gap started to widen again, but this time in the Beavers' favor. With 3:17 on the clock, Edwards made a layup with an assist by Saikumar, increasing the Beavers' lead to 62-58. With just over one minute left in the game, junior Faith Pinney (Spokane, Wash. / Gonzaga Prep) stole possession from the Athenas and solidified the Beavers' victory. Caltech would score an additional five points through free throws, as the final scoreboard read 67-62.

The Beavers will play at home this week as they take on the California Lutheran University Regals on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. For all live statistics and to livestream the contest, visit GoCaltech.com