Crusaders Fall to Cal. Institute for Tech. 68-49
PASADENA, Calif. - The University of Dallas women's basketball team dropped its opening game on the California trip 68-49 to Cal. Institute for Tech (CA). The Crusaders (0-2) fell behind 24-10 in the opening quarter. Dallas used an 8-0 run to get within nine at halftime. Caltech (2-0) pulled away in the fourth outscoring the Crusaders 21-12, including a 12-0 run at one point to secure the victory. The Beavers converted 20 points off of 22 Dallas turnovers in the game.
Dallas took the opening bucket with a slick layup by Faith Starnes (Bryan, Texas), but Caltech. went on a 14-4 run with Elizabeth Eiden and Samantha D'Costa leading the charge in the opening period.
Taylor Jobe (Queen Creek, Ariz.) made a layup to start the second period. Both team traded buckets in a fairly equal quarter. In the last minute and a half, the Crusaders got some key shots to fall, as they went on a 7-0 run to go into halftime only down by nine.
As the two teams started the third quarter 34-25, Dallas cut the lead down to seven twice as Breeona Cannon (Fort Worth, Texas) and Jobe both drilled 3-pointers in key moments. UD went into the final period down 10.
Dallas stayed close four minutes into the fourth quarter, but the Beavers got hot as they erupted for a 12-0 run. Elizabeth Eiden and Nika Haleftiras each had a couple of key jump shots on that run. The Crusaders hit shots late, but in the end Caltech used that big run to fight off UD. The Beavers shot 29-of-63 for 46 percent in the game, with an impressive 50 percent shooting percentage in that fourth period.
The Beavers had a trio of players reach double-digits in points. D'Costa led all scorers with 21 points, while Eiden knocked down 18 and Haleftras added 11. D'Costa secured a double-double by coming down with 13 boards, as the Beavers edged the Crusaders in rebounds 41-38. Caltech used this slight advantage as they scored 30 points in the paint, while Dallas was held to only 14 in that same category.
Starnes led the Crusaders with 15 points, while Jobe notched a season-best 10.
Both teams shot 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Dallas will continue its California trip by playing in the David Wells Classic. The Crusaders will start by taking on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College (CA) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (PST). UD will then play Pomona-Pitzer College (CA) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (PST).