Sophomore forward Elizabeth Eiden (White Plains, N.Y. / Holy Child) recorded her first double double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds and freshman guard Grace Peng (San Ramon, Calif. / California) poured in 21 points for Caltech in its first SCIAC women’s basketball victory of 2017 in Wednesday’s clash with Pomona-Pitzer College. […]
Sophomore forward Elizabeth Eiden (White Plains, N.Y. / Holy Child) recorded her first double double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds and freshman guard Grace Peng (San Ramon, Calif. / California) poured in 21 points for Caltech in its first SCIAC women’s basketball victory of 2017 in Wednesday’s clash with Pomona-Pitzer College.
Eiden opened the game with four of the Beavers’ first six points. Peng, along with freshman Samantha D’Costa (San Jose, Calif. / St. Francis) next nailed three consecutive buckets to give Caltech a five point lead. The host Sagehens, however refused to be buried early. They tied the game up with less than a minute to go in the period before senior Kate Lewis (San Antonio, Texas / Ronald Reagan) scored her first two points of the evening to give Caltech the lead at the end of the quarter. The second quarter of play was close comparitively close, though the Beavers did not surrender the lead. Back-to-back treys by Peng gave the Beavers pushed the lead to six late in the quarter. The Sagehens would then hit back to back threes to tie the game up with under a minute in the half prior to Eiden replicating Lewis’ first quarter feat to give the Beavers a 26-24 halftime lead.
The end of third and start of the fourth quarter saw the Beavers playing some of their best basketball of the season. After giving the Sagehens their largest lead of the game they fought to take it back. With three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter, the Beavers took firm control by embarking on a 11-0 run to give themselves an eight point lead heading into the final period of play. Eiden, D’Costa, and Peng layups opened up the fourth quarter to push the lead to 14, the largest lead of the game for the Beavers. With seven minutes remaining in the contest the Sagehens did not go away. The hosts slowly chipped away before tying the game at 53 with 2:53 remaining on the clock. The Sagehens would briefly regain the lead on a pair of free throws before Lewis made up the deficit for Caltech. Eiden capped off her night with a late layup to give the Beavers the lead for good. Free throws from Peng and D’Costa ultimately sealed the game for Caltech.
Head Coach Sandra Marbut and the Beavers will look to pick up back to back SCIAC wins for the first time since 2015 when they travel to University of La Verne on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
