PASADENA, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's basketball team earned a 67-57 victory over the Caltech Beavers on Saturday afternoon. Alexa Litchev led the team with a double double, ending the day with 18 points and 14 boards while Alyssa Jackson and Claire Galbo added 15 points and 11 points. Sarah Reuter was one point shy of a double double in the contest, grabbing 11 rebounds with nine points on the day. The Banana Slugs will be back in action tomorrow at 2pm as they take on Cal Lutheran on the road.
 
How It Happened
The first half of action was a closely contested battle at the Beavers narrowly outscored UCSC 20-19 in the first quarter while the Banana Slugs responded with a 14-12 advantage in the second quarter, sending UC Santa Cruz into the halftime break with a one point lead at 33-32. UCSC struck first in the contest, opening the game on a 5-0 run with two points from Alexa Litchev followed by a Clarie Galbo three. The Banana Slugs built an 11-6 lead, but Caltech used the final five minutes and 26 seconds of the quarter to rally back, outscoring UCSC 14-8 to take a 20-19 lead.
 
The two teams continued to trade buckets in the second quarter but steady offense from UCSC gave them the slight 33-32 halftime edge. Out of the break, UC Santa Cruz outscored Caltech 20-14 in the third and 14-11 in the fourth en route to the 10 point 67-57 victory. Caltech was able to build a four point lead at 39-35 with 7:45 left in the third but a 15-4 run put the Slugs in the driver seat with a 50-43 lead with 1:22 left in the third. Threes from both teams set the score at 53-46 with UCSC out in front heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Banana Slugs surged forward in the fourth quarter, leading by as much as 11 thanks to a three from Alyssa Jackson with 4:02 remaining. The Banana Slugs played well defensively down the stretch to hold off any late Caltech comebacks, earning the 67-57 victory.