CLAREMONT, Calif. — The Caltech women's basketball team picked up a massive win on the road on Saturday as they defeated the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas, 73-62. With the victory, the Beavers improve to 5-5 on the season and 5-4 when excluding Div. I opponents.

It is the second straight win and fourth win in five games for head coach Annie Tarakchian and the squad, who most recently nabbed a 73-62 OT victory over Austin College on Dec. 20.

The hosts scored the first points of the contest though Caltech quickly responded as senior guard Hope Arnett (Torrance, Calif. / Chadwick School) stole the ball from the Athenas before finding junior guard Saumya Chauhan (Fremont, Calif. / Mission San Jose), who fed senior guard Milan Robinson (Anaheim, Calif. / Fairmont Prep) for the fastbreak layup.

Arnett scored a blazing 11 points in the opening quarter; the veteran went 3-for-3 on deep shots and finished at the rim for a good layup.

The two teams traded baskets throughout the first quarter, with junior guard-forward Kathryn Edwards (Centenniel, Colo. / Araphoe) scoring two layups in the period's final few minutes, though it was CMS who jumped ahead to the 25-19 lead as the first buzzer sounded.

Caltech won the second quarter 17-12, helped in large part by the remarkable shooting of junior guard Kodie Vondra (Livingston, Mont. / Park), who downed three triples in the Beavers' first four possessions of the period to electrify the Caltech bench.

The Beavers edged CMS in the third quarter 18-17 before scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter and limiting the Athenas to just eight points.

The team's 73 points is the most scored by the Beavers against an NCAA opponent this season.

Additionally, the group earned season-highs in field goal percentage (.431), three-pointers made (13 on 26 attempts), three-point percentage (.500), assists (21) and steals (18); Caltech bested CMS in all of those categories.

Arnett's 10-steal performance is one of the highest single-game steal totals in program history; the senior recorded three more steals than the Athenas did as a team (seven).

Four Beavers reached double-digits in scoring; Vondra led the way with 18 points (6-for-11 FG, 4-for-5 FT, 2-for-4 FT) while Arnett and Edwards added 16 points. Chauhan notched 13 after connecting on two field goals and going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. Edwards led the team in rebounds with 11.

Head coach Annie Tarakchian was thrilled with how the team played over the course of the contest.

"Today's performance was the epitome of Caltech basketball," said Tarakchian. "Our motto this year is together and tough, and we represented that in full force tonight. Our seniors set the tempo for us defensively tonight starting with [Arnett], then [Robinson], then [Claire Perhach], and everyone followed suit. We're excited to be in full SCIAC play now," she said. "This is what we've been waiting for all year."

Caltech will return home for their next matchup as they take on Chapman University this Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Cheer on the Beavers in person and follow along online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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