SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The UC Santa Cruz women's basketball team placed 15 players in the scoring column during their 78-35 win over Caltech on Thursday evening.

The Banana Slugs grabbed control of the game early and never relented. The home squad forced the Beavers into a turnover on six of their first seven possessions as they took a 14-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest. UC Santa Cruz continued to press their defensive efforts as they recorded 15 steals to open up a 31 point lead just before halftime. They went into the locker room with a 45-16 advantage.

During the first 20 minutes of action, the Banana Slugs converted on 48.8 percent (20-of-41)  of their field goal attempts to aid in their 29-point halftime edge.

Unfortunately for the Beavers the story was much the same in the second half as UC Santa Cruz held a lead as large as 44 points in cruising to the victory.

The starting duo of Sarah Mackey and Danielle Mofsowitz each scored 12 points to pace the Banana Slugs offense.

Rachel Hess continued her strong scoring exploits to start the season. The sophomore tallied a 15-point effort to lead the Beavers offense for the fifth straight game.