LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego women's basketball team was unable to top fellow Big West Conference newcomer CSU Bakersfield at RIMAC Arena tonight, falling to the Roadrunners, 62-38. With the outcome, UC San Diego moves to 2-6 both in conference action and overall, while the Roadrunners improve to 8-7 on the season and 6-5 in Big West play.
The Tritons struggled to get going out the gate. With three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Roadrunners held a 15-2 advantage. UC San Diego then kicked into gear, finishing the quarter on a 9-0 run to cut the Roadrunners' lead to just four points. The strong finish to the period was sparked by
Julia Macabuhay, who took the court for the first time this season. Macabuhay scored seven points during the run, while
Emily Cangelosi contributed the other two.
The Tritons kept it going second quarter while also stepping up their game defensively. UC San Diego held the Roadrunners to 10 points across the 10 minutes on 3-14 shooting, while the Tritons put up 12 points on 5-19 shooting to make it a one-possession game at halftime (Roadrunners 25, Tritons 23).
After halftime though, UC San Diego struggled. The Roadrunners held the lead throughout the entire third quarter as they poured in 22 points, while the Tritons scored six. UC San Diego trailed 47-29 at the end of the quarter, which was then its largest deficit of the evening.
In the fourth quarter, the Tritons were unable to make a comeback. The Roadrunners outscored UC San Diego 15-9 in the last 10 minutes of the contest to bring the final score 62-38.
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- Aishah Brown collected 10 rebounds in the contest, which was a new career high and a team best.
- Julia Macabuhay played seven minutes, making her first appearance of the season.
- There were six lead changes between the Tritons and Roadrunners.
UP NEXT
Next, the Tritons and Roadrunners will be back in action for a rematch tomorrow evening. The teams will battle at 5 p.m. at RIMAC Arena. Catch the action on ESPN3.
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 began a new era in 2020 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 III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 37 have received 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.
