PASADENA, Calif.- Caltech stunned the Pacific University women's basketball team with a three-pointer at the buzzer to steal the 62-60 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The Boxers scored the go-ahead bucket with less than 10 seconds remaining in the contest, but the Beavers capitalized on the final possession to clinch the win on their home court.
The Boxers moved the ball well offensively, but were unable to make the most of their open looks as they shot just 34.2% from the field. Pacific was 7-of-31 from beyond the arc in a tough afternoon.
Camy Aguinaldo (Senior/Honolulu, HI) just missed her fifth-straight game with 20 or more points as she recorded 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting with eight rebounds and two threes.
Brilie Kovaloff (Junior/Honolulu, HI) racked up 14 points with five rebounds while
Sydney Gray (Junior/Central Point, OR) just missed a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds on the day.
How It Happened
The Boxers were firing on all cylinders to start the contest as they opened with a 9-0 run behind back-to-back layups from Kovaloff and a three-pointer from Aguinaldo. The Beavers would respond with short run of their own to cut the lead to just three points, but a huge triple from
Rilee Price (Junior/Brea, CA) would give Pacific some breathing room at the end of the first quarter. Despite shooting 9-of-15 from the floor in the opening 10 minutes, the Boxers would hold just a six-point advantage (21-15).
Hannah Stein (Sophomore/Eugene, OR) nailed a shot from beyond the arc on Pacific's first possession in the second quarter to extend the lead. Kovaloff followed with a silky scoop lay-in to make it a double-digit advantage. The Boxers continued to move the ball very well on the offensive end as they were able to work wide open layups for Gray on consecutive possessions.
Caltech answered yet again with an 8-0 run, but
Marissa Layosa (Sophomore/Hanamaulu, HI) ended the scoring drought by hitting a three-pointer from the corner. The back-and-forth first half would end with
Madison Dunlop (Sophomore/Palmer, AK) tipping in a missed layup to make the score 35-29 going into the break.
The hosts knocked down two threes to tie the score in the early minutes of the third quarter. The Boxers found their footing, however, as they strung together baskets from Aguinaldo, Gray, and Kovaloff for a quick 6-0 run.
Gray kept the momentum in Pacific's favor by finding the bottom of the net from three-point range to make the score 47-41 with just under three minutes left in the third period. The Beavers continued to hang around, closing the quarter on a 5-0 run as they would trail by just one point heading into the final 10 minutes.
Caltech took their first lead of the game in the early minutes of the fourth quarter but buckets from Aguinaldo and Gray allowed the Boxers to regain their advantage. Kovaloff gave Pacific a much-needed three-pointer when she banked in a shot from long range to make it 55-50 in favor of the Boxers.
A three-minute scoring drought would plague Pacific and Caltech would regain the lead with two minutes left in the contest.
Down by one point, Kovaloff hit a tough, fading jumper to give the Boxers the lead. However, Caltech's Hope Arnett hit a game-winning step-back three to give the Beavers the victory at the buzzer and the hosts would walk away with the 62-60 victory.
By The Numbers
- Caltech didn't gain the lead until the fourth quarter.
- Pacific is 2-2 against opponents from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) this season.
- The Boxers have lost three straight games.
Up Next
The Boxers open their Northwest Conference schedule on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. when they travel to Newberg, Ore. to face George Fox.
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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