SEATTLE—UC San Diego women's basketball got their first win of the 2021-22 season with a 60-44 victory over Seattle on Saturday afternoon at Redhawk Center. The Tritons had three players score double digits, led by
Julia Macabuhay with 14 points,
Sydney Brown with 11 and
Brianna Claros with 10.
Defensively,
Alex Obouh Fegue led the way with four of the team's seven blocks and
Sydney Brown tallied two steals for the Tritons. Brown also registered 12 rebounds to finish with her first double-double of the season.
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"I thought it was a great bounce-back win for our team," said head coach
Heidi VanDerveer. "Obviously we were disappointed in both our effort and our execution on Thursday night against a very good Portland team, but I felt like we responded, prepared well, came out with a lot more energy and focus. We weren't perfect but if we can start with those things and build on the execution and build on the chemistry, then we're making great progress."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons (1-1) got off to a hot start in the opening quarter, hitting 4-of-8 (50 percent) from three-point range. Macabuhay and Claros tallied two baskets each beyond the arc, including a three at the buzzer from Macabuhay to give the Tritons a 22-15 lead at the end of the first period.
UC San Diego cooled off considerably in the second quarter, hitting just 17 percent (3-of-17) from the field but the Tritons still took a 29-25 lead into the halftime break. Claros led the Tritons with eight points, adding three assists and
Sydney Brown and Obouh Fegue collected eight and six boards respectively for UC San Diego.
The Tritons immediately found their rhythm coming out of the intermission, beginning the second half on a 7-2 run. UC San Diego shot 40 percent (6-of-15) from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range and held a commanding 46-33 lead at the end of the third quarter.
UC San Diego carried momentum into the fourth period, hitting 6-of-12 from the field, including eight points in the paint and cruised to the 60-44 victory.
TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will return to La Jolla for its home opener on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT in RIMAC Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available on UCSDTritons.com.
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 38 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.
