Pasadena, Calif. – Caltech women's basketball rode another double-double from senior Kate Lewis (San Antonio, Texas / Ronald Reagan) to a comeback victory over Katherine's College, 46-37, on Monday evening in the Braun Gymnasium.
Lewis finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for her program-record 26th career doube-double, while sophomore Madeline Schemel (Westport, Conn. / Staples) added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Nika Haleftiras (San Diego, Calif. / Our Lady of Peace) was a major contributor as well, pouring in eight points to go along with 10 boards and two steals. As a team, the Beavers limited St. Katherine's to a meager 21 percent shooting from the field while holding a significant edge on the glass, outrebounding the Firebirds 60-42.
After an opening three minutes devoid of scoring, the Firebirds finally netted the first two points of the game, but minutes later Schemel scored the first bucket of the game for the Beavers to tie it at two all. After back-and-forth play from both teams with no further scoring, Haleftiras was fouled while rolling in her layup and sunk the free throw. A minute later, she then made a jump shot off a pass from classmate Elizabeth Eiden (White Plains, N.Y. / Holy Child), who would score the next bucket for the Beavers to put them up 9-2. The Firebirds went on a run to close the quarter, however, rattling off six points to pull within one at the first break.
Lewis wasted no time in the second quarter, scoring on the Beavers' first possession, which was soon followed by a jumper from freshman Grace Peng (San Ramon, Calif. / California). St. Katherine's opened the game up with three consecutive three-pointers to give the visitors their first lead of the game at 17-15, but Caltech responded with six straight points to retake the lead. Still, St. Katherine's would hit two more threes to take a 27-24 lead into the half.
The third quarter began with more traded buckets alternating with defensive stops between the foes as neither team would give up much on the defensive end. After a low-scoring period, the Beavers were within two to start the fourth. Caltech's defense kept the pressure on St. Katherine's and wore them down as the Firebirds' bucket with 6:49 left in the game, when they held a 37-35 lead, would be their last points and lead of the game. The Beavers were able to keep the game tight until Schemel's layup with 3:44 left in the game put the hosts ahead for good, with Caltech scoring the final nine points to close out the game and seal the first win of the season.
Head Coach Sandra Marbut and the Beavers host Knox College (3-4) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14 before they head to Chicago for a pair of games.
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