Ohio Wesleyan 81, Caltech 55

Senior post Kayla Gordon (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville) scored 7 straight points during a 13-2 run that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay, and the Bishops went on to defeat Caltech in the first round of the Occidental/Caltech Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday in Pasadena, Calif.

The tournament's second round is scheduled for Sunday at Occidental, with Ohio Wesleyan taking on the host Tigers.

The Beavers took an early 3-0 lead on a fast-break lay-in by Lisha Li and a free throw by Krissy Dahl, and Caltech took a 5-2 lead on Erin Hoops's hoop with 16:40 left in the first half.

Senior guard Tyler Cordell (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales) kicked off the Bishop run with a game-tying 3-pointer, and after Dahl scored to bring the Beavers within 8-7, Gordon followed with a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws, and a lay-in within a span of 66 seconds to give Ohio Wesleyan a 12-7 lead. Sophomore post Helen Scheblo (Canal Winchester/St. Francis deSales) followed with a 3-pointer to make it 15-7 with 12:53 left in the half.

Another Scheblo 3-pointer pushed the Bishop lead to 18-9, and Ohio Wesleyan extended the margin to 27-15 on Cordell's 3-point play with 7:55 remaining.

Caltech closed to within 30-21 on a Li lay-in and a couple of Hoops free throws.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with 6 straight points, with Scheblo scoring a pair of buckets sandwiched around a couple of Cordell free throws. The brief spurt pushed the Bishop lead to 36-21 with 3:05 left in the half, and Ohio Wesleyan would put the game out of reach by opening the second half with an 18-3 run that featured 7 points from Gordon.

Gordon led the Bishops with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Cordell finished with 16 points and matched her career best with 9 assists, and Scheblo scored a career-high 14 points.

Hoops led Caltech with 13 points and 4 assists, while Paige Logan grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Box Score