PASADENA, Calif. – The Caltech women's basketball team tipped off its 2023-24 home schedule against Bethesda University Wednesday night.
The visiting Lady Flames struck first with a pair of early baskets, but the brief 4-0 lead ended up being the only time the Beavers were behind for the rest of the game, as senior Milan Robinson hit a jump shot in the second minute of the contest, followed less than a minute later by junior Saumya Chauhan, who splashed a three-pointer to give the Beavers their first lead on what turned out to be a career highlight night. The Fremont, Calif. native exploded for 33 points, crushing her game-high of 13 last year, further contributing a team-high 7 rebounds — also a single-game career high — with three assists and a steal.
A Bethesda free throw tied the game at 5-5, but junior Kodie Vondra replied with a three-pointer, and then senior Hope Arnett earned a steal and raced up the court for a fastbreak layup, putting Caltech up by five and drawing an early timeout by the opposition.
The night also marked the triumphant return of Claire Zhang, who scored her first basket of the season with 4:03 to go in the opening quarter to give Caltech a 19-10 advantage. Junior Kathryn Edwards followed with her second field goal of the night, assisted by Robinson, and the Chauhan put the Beavers up by 16 with an Arnett-assisted three and a jump shot on the next possession after a steal by Vondra. The Flames fought back but still trailed by eight points at the half.
Caltech's lead shrunk to just four points early in the third quarter, but a pair of layups by Edwards and a Hope Arnett three put the Beavers up by 9 about halfway through the period. Edwards then fed Chauhan for a two and a three before Chauhan returned the favor and assisted Edwards' layup, lifting the Caltech to a 57-42 lead. Senior Claire Perhach then got on the scoreboard with a jumper to give the Beavers 59 points, and the Flames only pulled back to within 10 points by the end of the quarter.
Perhach hit the first basket of the final frame, and then Chauhan sparked a 10-0 scoring run for Caltech with a pair of layups. The Beavers ran away with the rest of the game, and after junior Eshani Patel drained a two-pointer, sophomore Eleanor Kim dished an assist to Chauhan and junior Maria Vazhaeparambil nabbing a steal and hitting a pair of free throws, every Beaver contributed offensive stats in the winning effort.
"What an awesome way to open up our season at home," Head Coach Annie Tarakchian said. "We are still very much defining ourselves to the team we want to be this year, and tonight was another step forward in that. Together and Tough, or 'T&T' is our motto this year, and good things happen and will continue to happen as we stick to that script."
Chauhan's 33 points were just three shy of the program record of 36, set by Rachel Hess in the 2011-12 season. Caltech Hall of Honor 2023 inductee Lindsay King also scored 33 points in a 2005 game, which was the program record at the time.
The Beavers host the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs next, on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. in Braun Gymnasium. Find live stats and video at https://gocaltech.com/coverage.
