Box Score

PASADENA, CA - An 11 point second half run started by Maggie Fruehan and capped by Janay Smith helped push Johns Hopkins to a comfortable lead of 16, from which the Jays never looked back, defeating Caltech, 66-53. The 11-0 run spanned 2:47, and included four forced turnovers by Hopkins.

Using a balanced first half attack that saw nine players get in the scoring column, the Jays took a 29-25 lead into the intermission. Coming out of the locker rooms, Hopkins was the aggressor, pushing its lead to nine, 38-29, just three minutes after the break. Caltech kept it close, narrowing the margin to seven three times in the next four minutes. Following a Bridget Connor jumper the Jays lead was five, 42-37, with 12:24 left to play.

Then the Jays took it up a notch. The aforementioned Fruehan layup bumped the lead back to seven. A turnover by Connor led to a Ciara McCullagh bucket and the lead was nine. Katie Clark nailed a three following another Beaver turnover, and Alyssa Fleming drilled two foul shots after the third consecutive mishandle by the Beavers. Smith capped the run with a layup of her own and the lead had suddenly swelled to 16.

Kate Lewis finally put an end to the Jays run with a bucket of her own, but consecutive buckets by Clark, Liz Tommasi and Haley Bush pushed the Jays lead to 20, 59-39, with 7:45 remaining.

The Beavers didn't quit though, mounting a furious 11-2 rally over the next six minutes to cut the lead to 10 with 1:44 left. But it was too little too late, and that was as close as the Beavers would get, as the Jays used three baskets with less than a minute to play to balloon the lead to 66-53.

For the Blue Jays, Bush was the high scorer, finishing with 14 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field. The Hopkins bench also added some punch tonight, combining for 26 points and 14 rebounds in the win.

Lewis, a sophomore from San Antonio, starred for Caltech, tallying a season-high 28 points while also pulling down four rebounds in defeat.

The win brings Hopkins' record to 7-3 on the year. The Jays will open the new year with a home game against Messiah next Monday, Jan. 5. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm.