PASADENA, Calif. — First-year guard Zeynep Goktepe (Istanbul, Turkey / The MacDuffie School) sunk a clutch and-one layup and drained the game-winning free throw with 0.3 seconds remaining to give Caltech Women's Basketball a 66-65 victory over Ottawa University Arizona in a nonconference duel on Thursday. With the victory, the Beavers improve to 2-0 on the season and give Ottawa their first loss of the year after they entered the evening 6-0.

The game's most exhilarating moments came in the final minute as the Spirit hit a critical 3-pointer to go ahead 65-63. A botched inbound from the Beavers gave Ottawa possession with the opportunity to gain a two-score lead, but the Beavers' defense tightened up, forcing a miss on the Ottawa shot and leading to a massive defensive rebound by senior guard/forward Kathryn Edwards (Centennial, Colo. / Arapahoe).

Only 16 seconds remained on the clock as Caltech moved the ball up the court, getting the ball into the hands of Goktepe, who let the clock chew down before using a screen from Edwards to attack the rim. The guard finished on a well-contested layup with just 0.3 seconds left, drawing the foul and electrifying the Caltech bench and fans. All tied up 65-65, Goktepe stepped up to the line and calmly sunk the free throw to win the game.

Goktepe credited her teammates for putting her in a position to make a play down the stretch.

"It wasn't just that play," Goktepe said of her bucket in the final seconds. "All of my teammates contributed in this one and I am grateful that we came up big under pressure and had a great game."

The game began just after 7 p.m. and it was the Spirit who jumped ahead to the early lead, going ahead by as many as 11 at 15-4 and again at 16-5 just a few minutes into the opening quarter. The Beavers quickly responded, however, capping the quarter on an incredible 14-0 run to put themselves in front, 19-16, as the first buzzer sounded. Caltech did not allow a single Ottawa point in the final 5:06 of the quarter.

The Beavers won the second quarter by three to go up 37-31 at the half, but a strong third quarter from Ottawa put the two teams at a 50-50 tie entering the final quarter. The two teams battled back and forth across the final 10 minutes, with the Spirit gaining a four-point lead at the 8:11 mark before Caltech earned the four-point advantage at 2:07 after a good jumper from rookie guard Kyra Phaychanpheng (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills).

Back-to-back 3-pointers from the visitors put Ottawa back in front, 65-63, before Goktepe hit her game-tying bucket and game-winning free throw.

Goktepe led all players from either team in points with 15, going 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line; she dished out a team-high six assists and collected three rebounds and three steals.

The game's next two highest-scorers also came from Caltech with first-year guard Anamaria Robertson (Petaluma, Calif. / Casa Grande) putting up 14 points off the bench on 5-of-10 shooting, going 2-for-4 from deep with two free throws, and Edwards dropping 13 along with seven rebounds to tie the team high. Edwards additionally dished out one assist and logged two steals to go with a massive block to deny a layup attempt from Ottawa.

Phaychanpheng scored 10 points and brought down six boards; the first-year led all players in the contest in offensive rebounds, with five of her six coming on the offensive glass.

Senior guard Kodie Vondra (Livingston, Mont. / Park) led the group in steals with four while senior center Asmat Taunque (Chandigarh, India / The Lawrenceville School) tied Edwards in rebounds, with seven.

The Beavers outshot the Spirt, shooting .453 from the field to the visitors' .387. Caltech made 16 free throws to Ottawa's 13; the Beavers racked up 23 defensive rebounds, nine offensive boards and 13 steals.

Head coach Annie Tarakchian was proud of how the team fought across all 40 minutes of action.

"Different people stepped up at different parts of the game, which is what makes teams great," said Tarakchian. "[I'm] proud of the group for staying resilient, and pushing through down by 11 then up a couple, then of course making the big play at the end when we needed it," she said. "It's exciting to see the gears turning little by little."

The group will look to keep the momentum going as they host UC Santa Cruz this Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2:00 pm at Braun Gymnasium. Cheer on the Beavers in person and follow along online at GoCaltech.com/coverage.

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