FULLERTON, Calif. – The UC San Diego women's basketball team battled, but ultimately fell to Cal State Fullerton, 60-57, at Titan Gym this evening. With the outcome, UC San Diego moves to 5-9 both on the season and in Big West action, while the Titans improve to 3-16 overall and 2-13 in conference play.
 
It was a slow start for the Tritons out the gate. After Tyla Turner gave the Tritons a 3-2 lead in the first minute of action, the Titans went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes. UC San Diego was able to cut the deficit in the remaining minutes of the period though, narrowing the Titans' advantage to 18-16 after the first quarter.
 
The Tritons continued to battle, but were unable to ever take over the lead in the second period. Cal State Fullerton matched its first-quarter output with 18 more points, while the Tritons put up 13 to bring the score to 36-29 at halftime.
 
UC San Diego's offensive efforts stalled in the third quarter. The Tritons were only able to record eight points, and faced a 53-37 deficit heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
In the fourth quarter however, the Tritons came alive, quickly chipping away at the Titans' lead. Eventually, Sydney Brown buried a shot from beyond the arc with 56 seconds remaining to pull UC San Diego within a basket (60-57). The Tritons were able to get off a pair of shots in the final seconds, but were unable to score, so the Titans narrowly came away with the win.

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Heidi VanDerveer spoke after the game.



TRITON TIDBITS

• Emily Cangelosi finished the evening with 16 points, a new career high and a game best.
• UC San Diego outscored Cal State Fullerton 20-7 in the fourth quarter.
• UC San Diego shot 11-36 from beyond the arc, while the Titans shot 4-17.

UP NEXT 

Next, the Tritons will close out their inaugural Division I season with a rematch against Cal State Fullerton. The Tritons and Titans will face off tomorrow at 5 p.m.
 
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.
 
Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program.  Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene.  Athletes, coaches and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA and Big West Conference guidelines and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.