SAN DIEGO—UC San Diego women's basketball fell to San Diego State, 65-57, on Friday evening in Viejas Arena. The game was a back-and-forth battle in which neither team led by more than one possession for most of the contest before a late surge gave the Aztecs the advantage and ultimately the victory.
 
Sydney Brown finished just shy of a double-double with a team-high 13 points and nine rebounds. Aishah Brown also scored in double figures with 10 points and five rebounds, while Brianna Claros added 11 points and Julia Macabuhay chipped in nine.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons (3-6) were hot from beyond the arc to start the contest, knocking down four threes in the opening quarter. UC San Diego built up a four-point lead midway through the first quarter, but the Aztecs (6-4) answered with a six-point run and the teams went into the first break knotted at 16-all. 
 
Back-to-back shots by Sydney Brown and Aishah Brown gave the Tritons the lead again, 23-19, early in the second period. UC San Diego continued to battle before another six-point run gave the Aztecs the slim lead heading into the halftime break, 28-27.
 
The Tritons knocked down six threes in the first half, compared to just two for the Aztecs who rank top-10 in the country in three-point shooting this season.
 
A 6-0 run in the early minutes of the second half gave the Tritons a 33-30 lead, but SDSU outscored UC San Diego 13-5 down the stretch to hold a 45-40 lead heading into the final period.
 
After the Aztecs extended their lead to as many as 11, UC San Diego rallied late behind back-to-back three-pointers from Macabuhay to make it a one-possession game, 60-57, with 1:24 remaining in the contest.
 
A couple offensive rebounds by the Aztecs and a costly turnover by the Tritons in the final minute eliminated the potential for a comeback.
 
QUOTABLE
"I thought that we had a great game plan going in," said head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "I thought offensively we had really high pace and had some people step up. Sydney Brown competed as always, Aishah Brown had a great game and I thought Bridget Mullings and Katie Springs also came in and did a great job. Really we just ran into a team that made more plays down the stretch than we did. 
 
We battled throughout the game, had people play hard and make great contributions but ultimately we just didn't make enough plays down the stretch to win."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sydney Brown led the team in scoring for the fourth time this season, finishing one rebound shy of her third double-double. 
• The game saw 6 ties and 6 lead changes, with the Tritons leading for 14:37 compared to 18:42 for the Aztecs.
• It was the first meeting between the local teams since 2001
• It was the fifth loss of the season decided by 10 or fewer points for the Tritons.
• For the sixth consecutive game, UC San Diego's starters consisted of Madison Baxter, Aishah Brown, Sydney Brown, Julia Macabuhay and Parker Montgomery.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up its nonconference schedule on Tuesday (Dec. 21), when the Tritons play host to Northern Arizona at 4 p.m. PT in RIMAC Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available 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.