BAKERSFIELD, Calif.— UC San Diego women's basketball improved to 6-2 in the Big West with a hard-fought victory over CSU Bakersfield, 64-59, on Saturday afternoon at the Icardo Center.
 
The Tritons (9-8, 6-2 Big West) were led by Emily Cangelosi, who matched her career high for the second game in a row with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Julia Macabuhay and Parker Montgomery scored in double-figures as well with 13 points and 11 points respectively. Macabuhay also led the Tritons with four assists in the contest.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded points to an 8-8 tie early in the first quarter, before the Roadrunners (1-12, 0-4 Big West) took control with a 7-0 run. UC San Diego answered with back-to-back threes from Cangelosi and Madison Baxter, but CSUB closed out the period on a 8-2 run to take a 23-16 lead into the first quarter break.
 
The Tritons responded with a 12-3 run to open the second quarter, taking the lead 28-26 on a Bridget Mullings layup at the 3:55 mark. Two timely threes kept the Roadrunners in the contest and the teams went into the locker room at the half tied 32-32.
 
UC San Diego struggled offensively in the third quarter, shooting just 3-of-13 from the field. The Tritons did their part from the charity stripe, hitting 4-of-4 free throws and then a timely three from Montgomery kept UC San Diego on top 43-42 at the end of the third period.
 
A 6-0 run by the Roadrunners to open the final quarter gave CSUB its largest lead of the contest, 48-43. The Tritons continued to battle before Cangelosi knocked down seven consecutive points to give UC San Diego a 55-53 lead with 2:02 to play. 
 
CSUB tied the game again at 57-all, but Cangelosi dropped in another three with 0:40 remaining to give the Tritons the lead for good. Macabuhay iced the game, hitting 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final seconds and the Tritons secured their third consecutive victory.

QUOTABLE
"I'm very proud of our team's effort," said head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "It was definitely a challenging game for our team. I thought that we really responded and had great leadership from our guards, Julia Macabuhay and Brianna Claros. Obviously, the heartbeat of our team was Emily [Cangelosi]. I thought people like Parker Montgomery came in and took good shots, and we got some good minutes from Bridget Mullings—Bridget is just continuing to evolve and understanding how good she can be. And finally, having Aishah Brown back—she's so consistent and strong—really helps us. I think that they should all be very proud of their effort and getting two wins on the road, grinding out against two tough opponents, should give us a lot of confidence moving forward."

TRITON TIDBITS

• Emily Cangelosi matched her career high for the second game in a row, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Her 16 points and nine rebounds were both game highs as well.
• The game saw seven ties and 14 lead changes, with neither team leading by more than nine.
• With the win, the Tritons moved to 5-12 in the all-time series with CSU Bakersfield.
• UC San Diego's starters consisted of Madison Baxter, Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Julia Macabuhay and Parker Montgomery. 

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return home to wrap up the first half of conference play. UC San Diego will play host to CSUN on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. PT and face off with UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. PT in RIMAC Arena. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com. Triton athletic competitions will proceed without spectators for all home games on the UC San Diego campus through Feb. 6. For more information and regular updates regarding attendance at UC San Diego athletic events, please click here.

 
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.