LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball rallied late but came up short in a 64-54 loss to Cal on Saturday afternoon at RIMAC Arena. The Tritons (2-2) had three players score double figures and outscored the Golden Bears (4-0) in the second half 37-31 but were unable to complete the comeback.
 
The Tritons were led by Parker Montgomery with 14 points, matching her career high for the second game in a row. Sydney Brown finished with 13 points and Alex Obouh Fegue added 12 points, while both collected a team high nine rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons took the early lead in the contest with baskets from Aishah Brown and Julia Macabuhay, holding an 8-2 advantage with 6:15 remaining in the opening period. Cal used an 8-0 run to retake the lead at the 3:04 mark and led 15-13 at the end of period. Both teams shot 35.7 percent, with the Tritons hitting 2-of-3 from the beyond the arc early.
 
It was a different story in the second quarter, as UC San Diego struggled to get going offensively and was held scoreless through the first three minutes. The Tritons hit just 1-of-19 from the field and the Golden Bears outscored UC San Diego 18-4 in the period to take a 33-17 lead into the halftime break. 
 
Cal held a 15-6 advantage from beyond the arc and outrebounded the Tritons 30-18 in the half.
 
UC San Diego came alive in the third quarter, sparked by back-to-back threes from Sydney Brown to start the period. The Tritons then went on a 15-4 run midway through the quarter, cutting the Cal lead from 17 to six. Brown hit a three with five seconds on the clock to cut the lead down to five, 46-41.
 
The Tritons shot 50 percent from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range, outscoring the Golden Bears 24-13 in the period.
 
UC San Diego continued to battle in the final period before a three from Emily Cangelosi made it a two-point game with 6:12 remaining. Back-to-back baskets by Cal slowed the momentum, but the Tritons continued to press. Montgomery hit another three to make it a 59-54 game with 1:58 remaining but UC San Diego was unable to close out the comeback in the final minutes, eventually falling 64-54.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons moved the ball well, collecting 15 assists compared to 10 for Cal.
• UC San Diego outscored the Bears from beyond the arc 24-18 and held the advantage in points in the paint 20-15.
• Defensively, the Tritons collected five blocks compared to just two for Cal and had six steals in the contest.
• For the second consecutive game, Parker Montgomery tied her career high, finishing with 14 points.
• UC San Diego's starters consisted of Madison Baxter, Aishah Brown, Sydney Brown, Julia Macabuhay and Parker Montgomery.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will head north for the LMU Thanksgiving Classic over the holiday weekend. The Tritons will face off with Penn in a neutral contest on Friday, Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. PT. UC San Diego will face the host Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Nov. 27 with tipoff set for 12 p.m. PT. Saturday's game will be streamed on the WCC Network and live statistics will be available for both game via 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.