PASADENA, Calif. – The Linfield women's basketball team is still searching for its first win of the season after a 68-56 loss to Caltech Tuesday night at Braun Gymnasium.
 
The Wildcats opened the game with seven straight points and extended their lead to 10-2. The Beavers fought their way back to take a 15-14 lead heading into the second quarter. The Beavers outscored the 'Cats 18-13 in the second quarter and maintained their lead the rest of the way.
 
Freshman forward Elyse Waldal has been a bright spot for the Wildcats in the back half of the California road trip. She led the team in scoring for the second straight game, dropping 15 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Waldal played a team-leading 28 minutes off the bench, shooting 4 of 7 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
 
Fellow freshman forward Gillyan Landis also scored in double digits for the 'Cats with 11 points on 50 percent shooting. She also finished with six rebounds, two assists and two steals in her fifth straight start. Freshman guard Emma Schmerbach tallied eight points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals while freshman Rowan Cusack and senior Ti'Anna Bruce had six points apiece.
 
Caltech outshot Linfield 46.3 percent to 36 percent while also connecting on 37.5 percent from three-point range. The 'Cats outrebounded the Beavers 36-28, but the Beavers scored 28 points off 24 Linfield turnovers.
 
Three Beavers scored in double digits. Kathryn Edwards led all players with 20 points, connecting on 8 of 11 from the field and a perfect 2 of 2 from both three-point range and the free throw line. Edwards also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sahana Saikumar dropped 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Hope Arnett had 10 points, five assists and three steals.
 
NEXT
The 'Cats (0-5) will return to Oregon for the Ken Schumann Classic, hosted by Pacific in Forest Grove. They will play Trinity (Texas) on Friday and Colorado College on Saturday. Both games tip off at 2 p.m.