Caltech Women's Basketball stormed past the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks as Madison Quan earned her first victory as a head coach in an NCAA matchup Tuesday afternoon.
"Our program treats every game the same, no matter what level or division the other team is in. I'm really proud of our girls getting our first win against an NCAA team this year but for my basketball journey, and our team's journey, we feel like it's just beginning -- We're not gonna stop there," Quan said. "We are never satisfied we want to continue growing as a program, one game, one practice, one possession at a time."
The Beaver defense stifled the Scarlet Hawks, allowing just one field goal in the entire first half and just three points in the first quarter. Caltech held Illinois tech to seven points or fewer in the first, second and fourth quarters.
"Our coaches always tell our players defense wins games, and our number one goal is to win the first quarter of every game," Quan said. "From a defensive standpoint, we executed the game plan very well."
The Institute benefited from defensive contributions from up and down the lineup Tuesday. Sophomore Louise Scriven (Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand / Paraparaumu) lead the team with four blocks and was one of three Beavers with multiple steals. Nine of her ten rebounds were on the defensive end of the floor. Sophomore Kyra Phaychanpheng (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills) led the team with 15 rebounds, 12 of them defensive, and added a steal.
"Lou is just one of our big pieces of the team, but as the girls know they all play a very significant, equal role in our win," Quan said. "The best part of yesterday was that it was a collective win."
Offensively, Caltech shot out of the block Saturday, taking an early 16-0 lead. Scriven scored eight of the Beavers first 10 points. She drained two confident shots from beyond the arc in the opening two minutes and added a block and two steals on defense in the opening frame. She finished with 10 points for her second double-double of the season.
"We've been working on coming out strong from the jump and yesterday was a clear indicator that we were able to translate what we've been doing in practice to game time," Quan said.
Phaychanpheng also earned her second double-double of the year, complimenting her 15 rebounds with a team-leading 13 points Tuesday. She leads the team in overall scoring with 117 points on the season.
Caltech moved the ball effectively against the Scarlet Hawks, as four Beavers had multiple assists and six Beavers had at least one assist. Sophomore Zeynep Goktepe led the team with five helpers to go along with 10 points of her own against Illinois Tech.
First-year Isabella Lo (San Jose, Calif. / The Harker School) provided energy off the bench, chipping in 10 points and six rebounds.
Caltech concludes their current three-game homestand with a 1:00 p.m. matchup against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Wednesday, Dec. 31.
Follow Caltech women's hoops on X and Instagram and follow Caltech Athletics on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
