WHITTIER, Calif. (Feb 11, 2023) – The Caltech women's basketball team faced off against the Whittier College Poets Saturday afternoon in the Beavers' penultimate away game of the season, and sophomore guard Kodie Vondra led the way to victory with a season-high 25 points.
Caltech opened up the contest with a 6-0 scoring run, beginning with a couple layups by Kathryn Edwards followed by a pair of free throws by Claire Perhach. Whittier finally broke their scoreless streak in the sixth minute of the game and pulled within two points of Caltech before Milan Robinson drew a foul and made her two free throws, and Edwards replied to a Poet three-pointer with a triple of her own. She made one more layup in the quarter and then Vondra ended the frame with a pair of good free throws, giving the Beavers a 15-10 lead at the break.
Whittier stormed back into the game in the form of a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, with Caltech struggling to find the rim before Eleanor Kim dished to Faith Pinney for a clutch three-ball to slow the Poets' momentum, drawing a timeout by the home team. Vondra then nailed another three followed by two more in the last two minutes of the half, and Caltech held to a 31-27 advantage at halftime.
The third quarter began with the two teams trading field goals and then free throws, but the Beavers kept finding success from long range as Vondra and Maria Vazhaeparambil scored from distance to earn a 47-39 lead by the end of the period.
Free throws helped protect the Beavers' margin in the fourth quarter as the team shot 7-for-8 from the stripe, with Eshani Patel, Vondra and Edwards all making Whittier pay for their four shooting fouls. Another Pinney three-pointer gave the Beavers their biggest lead of the game, 60-47 with just over four minutes left. While the Poets quickly countered with their own triple, Caltech held them scoreless until the last minute of the game, conceding just one more point to the hosts before the final buzzer.
The 61-51 win earned the Beavers a season sweep against their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) rivals and their largest margin of victory in the teams' head-to-head history.
Edwards finished with a double-double of 10 rebounds and 17 points, and Pinney led her teammates with 12 rebounds and four steals. Robinson and Kim each contributed four assists to Caltech's offensive efforts.
Head Coach Annie Tarakchian and the Beavers will face the Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on the road next Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. Watch live on the SCIAC Network.
