Caltech Women's Basketball went toe-to-toe with the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs in a thrilling match in Braun Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.  

The Beavers jumped out of the gates with 20 points in the first quarter in which they shot 47.1 percent from the field. The Beavers went on a 6-0 run midway through the quarter on a three-pointer by sophomore Anamaria Robertson (Petaluma, Calif. / Casa Grande) followed by a three-point play by sophomore Kyra Phaychanpheng (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills) who was fouled making a layup before converting the free throw. The run turned an 11-6 deficit into a 12-11 lead and the Beavers found themselves ahead at the end of the quarter.  

Phaychanpheng led all scorers with 18 points. She was two rebounds shy of a double-double and led the Beavers with two steals on the night. Sophomore Zeynep Goktepe (Istanbul, Turkey / The MacDuffie School) had an impressive all-around performance with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.  

"We've grown exponentially since our first game, offensively and defensively," Head Coach Madison Quan said.. "We just have to be able to fight through mental toughness and fatigue at the end of games to win boards and handle leads." 

 The battle was a back-and-forth affair with a remarkable 14 lead changes and six ties. Caltech also stayed remarkably disciplined during clutch time. The Institute did not commit a foul in the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter.  

Caltech stays at home to face the Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech Tuesday, Dec 16 at noon in Braun Gymnasium.  

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