Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 7-1
BWC: 6-0
Home: 4-0
Away: 3-1
Neutral: 0-0
Streak: W6
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
(RE)CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
As UC San Diego begins its NCAA-mandated four-year reclassification to Division I, the Tritons are not eligible to compete in Big West or NCAA postseason events. However, UC San Diego will play a full slate of Big West games each year and be eligible for individual Big West honors (e.g., All-Conference Team, Player of the Year, etc.).
 
PRESS PAUSE
Long Beach State paused basketball activities on Jan. 15 due to COVID-19 protocols. The Beach was scheduled to face UC Irvine on Jan. 15 and 16, but those games were canceled. The games against UC San Diego will be the Beach's first since resuming activity.
 
TRITON TIDE VIRTUAL FAN FEST: NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY
This week's edition of Virtual Fan Fest celebrates National Girls & Women in Sports Day – which occurs each year on Feb. 3. UC San Diego students can join the fun on Friday at 4 p.m. for games, prizes, and the Ask an Athlete segment with members of the Triton softball team. For more information or to register, check out Triton Tide on social media.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, the Tritons fell to preseason favorite UC Davis, 58-46, at the Pavilion. The Tritons outscored the Aggies in the final two quarters, but it was not enough to overcome the 36-15 deficit they faced at halftime. Tyla Turner led the team with 16 points and tied with Aishah Brown for a team-high seven rebounds.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
In the Tritons' first year with the Big West Conference, they were ranked 11^th with 25 points in the preseason coaches poll, which was voted on by the conference's head coaches. UC San Diego was tabbed ninth with 74 points in the preseason media poll, in which they earned a first-place vote.
 
Long Beach State was ranked sixth in the coaches poll with 69 points and seventh in the media poll with 120 points.
 
View the full preseason polls here.
 
FROM LONG BEACH TO LA JOLLA
Tyla Turner will be facing her former team, as she played her freshman year at Long Beach State. Turner appeared in 34 contests for the Beach, averaging 9.8 minutes per game.
 
MILESTONE APPROACHING
Head Coach Heidi VanDerveer currently stands at a career record of 298-139, two shy of her 300^th career victory. VanDerveer holds a mark of 165-53 during her time at UC San Diego. Previously, she served as a head coach at Eastern Washington (1994-97) and Occidental (2008-12).
 
INDIVIDUALS IMPACTING THE BIG WEST
Multiple Tritons rank in the top five in various statistical categories among Big West Conference basketball players.
 
Emily Cangelosi stands at third in 3-point percentage (57.9) and fifth in field goal percentage (50.0).
 
Sydney Brown ranks fourth in defensive rebounds per game (6.0) and fifth in free throw percentage, shooting 83.3% at the charity stripe.
 
Tyla Turner is fourth in offensive rebounds per game (2.8) and fifth in assists per game (4.2).
 
Kendal Ellenbeck ranks fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.0).
 
PLENTY OF POINTS
The Tritons are averaging 64.6 points per game this season. That mark is good for third place among Big West schools.
 
CAREER MARKS FOR CANGELOSI
Emily Cangelosi, who has started every game so far this season, put up a career-high 13 points against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 16. She followed up by scoring 11 points, the second-best mark of her career, against UC Davis on Jan. 22. For her efforts at UC Davis, Cangelosi was tabbed the UC San Diego Athlete of the Week.
 

UC San Diego Student-Athletes of the Week: Gabe Hadley and Emily Cangelosi.#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/nNmr3P13pu

— UC San Diego Tritons (@UCSDtritons) January 25, 2021

 
AWARDS TIMES TWO FOR TURNER
Tyla Turner was named the UC San Diego Athlete of the Week on Jan. 11 for her performance in the Tritons' two games against Cal Poly, and again on Jan. 18 for her efforts in the Tritons' thrilling win over UC Santa Barbara. Turner averaged 10 points, six assists, 4.5 rebounds, and two steals in the Tritons' pair of contests with the Mustangs. Against the Gauchos, Turner put up a game high 24-points, including the game-winning basket.
 
SIZZLING SYDNEY BROWN
In UC San Diego's first win of the season on Jan. 2, Sydney Brown racked up 31 points and 14 rebounds for her first double-double of the season in a 74-63 victory over Cal Poly. Both marks were career highs for Brown as well as game bests. Her 31 points were the most by a Triton since Mikayla Williams' 36 points against Hawai'i Pacific (Nov. 10, 2018). For her efforts, Brown was named the UC San Diego Athlete of the Week on Jan. 4.
 
OPTING OUT
Three Tritons have opted out of participation this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hanna Beckman, Isabelle Parker, and Lucy Young will be sitting out during the 2020-21 season. Last season, Parker appeared in all 30 games for the Tritons, averaging 16 minutes per game, while Beckman appeared in six games off the bench for a total of 22 minutes. Young is in her freshman year at UC San Diego.
 
INJURY REPORT
Julia Macabuhay is currently unavailable for the Tritons due to injury.
 
COMING UP
Following their games against Long Beach State, the Tritons will be Hawai'i bound. UC San Diego will face the Rainbows at 9 p.m. on Feb. 5 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 6.
 
FOUR SET TO JOIN UC SAN DIEGO
Bridget Mullings, Katie Springs, Izzy Forsyth, and Kayleigh Walton have signed their National Letters of Intent (NLI) for the 2021-22 season. The early signing period for Division I basketball NLIs occurred Nov. 11-18, while the regular signing period will take place April 14-May 19.
 
TRITONS SIGN NCAA UNITY PLEDGE
UC San Diego scholar-athletes have signed the NCAA's Unity Pledge, a symbolic gesture to continue generating stronger unity among the NCAA's 1,100-plus schools and nearly 500,000 student-athletes. The pledge's logo includes three different colored hands holding one another's wrists inside a circle with "United As One" at the bottom.
 
RACE FOR CHANGE
The UC San Diego women's basketball program organized Race for Change, a virtual 5K which took place Oct. 15-18. All proceeds from the event benefitted the UC San Diego Black Resource Center (BRC), which provides support services and fosters community for the entire UC San Diego population while emphasizing the Black experience. The team believed it was important to take a day that historically marks the start of a new basketball season and shift the attention to racial and social justice.
 
CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS
UC San Diego recorded its best free throw percentage in program history last season. The Tritons went 374-484 at the charity stripe in 2019-20, good for a percentage of 77.3. UC San Diego topped its previous mark of 75.1%, which it recorded during the 2006-07 season.
 
STRONG FINISH TO THE DIVISION II ERA
The Tritons won back-to-back CCAA Tournament titles for the first time in program history with their 73-62 win over Cal State San Marcos on March 7, 2020. The CCAA Tournament crown was their third during their time with the conference. Additionally, the Tritons earned a share of the CCAA regular season title with their 18-4 regular season conference record during the 2019-20 season, splitting the title with Cal State San Marcos. It was UC San Diego's fifth-straight regular season crown, as well as its 10^th in its CCAA era.
 
TOP OF THE NATION
Julia Macabuhay finished the 2019-20 season with an All-America accolade from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, becoming the seventh and final All-American in the Tritons' Division II history. Macabuhay joined Associate Head Coach Chelsea Carlisle, who earned All-America honors three time with the Tritons (2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12), and Assistant Coach Dalayna Sampton, who was named a Triton All-American in 2017-18.
 
TRIPLE-DOUBLE TURNER
Last season, Tyla Turner was the first player in the Tritons' Division II history and one of only three players across the country to record two triple-doubles. Turner put up 13 rebounds, 10 points, and 10 assists in her first triple-double on Feb. 1 and contributed 10 rebounds, 10 points, and 10 assists in her second triple-double on March 6.
 
FULLY REGISTERED
All members of the UC San Diego women's basketball team completed their voter registration as part of a larger initiative to register all Triton scholar-athletes to vote. In all, more than 90% of eligible UC San Diego scholar-athletes registered to vote in November's election.
 
Additionally, Head Coach Heidi VanDerveer was featured in the Big West's More Than a Moment public service announcement. In the PSA, VanDerveer and the other Big West women's basketball coaches shared what they would tell their younger selves about voting. Watch the PSA here.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men's and women's basketball games and men's and women's volleyball matches are broadcast live on ESPN3. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego basketball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference.
 
New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
KEEP UP WITH THE TRITONS
Follow UC San Diego all season long on social media through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdwbb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons here.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.