LAS VEGAS–UC San Diego women's basketball fell to Illinois State, 79-62, on Friday evening in the Thomas & Mack Center. The Tritons (1-3) opened up the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament against the Redbirds (4-0) in the first ever meeting between the teams.
 
Sydney Brown led the Tritons offensively with 14 points, while Bridget Mullings tallied a career-best 13 points and Emily Cangelosi added 10. Cangelosi and Mullings both collected a team-high seven boards, while Katie Springs tallied a career-best six rebounds. Mullings led the team with three assists and Parker Montgomery chipped in two.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams were slow to start, with the Redbirds leading UC San Diego, 5-2 at the first media timeout (4:54). The Tritons a rhythm in the second half of the period but ISU took the 18-13 lead into the first quarter break.
 
UC San Diego matched the Redbirds shot-for-shot to open the second quarter. The Tritons trailed 24-19 before ISU hit three consecutive three-pointers and went on a 12-0 run to extend its lead, 36-19. UC San Diego answered with a 6-1 run to close out the period but still trailed, 42-31, at the half.
 
Illinois State opened up the second half with a 6-0 run, but it was the Tritons that dominated the quarter. UC San Diego outscored ISU, 12-2 to close out the period and cut the deficit six heading into the final quarter.
 
The Redbirds halted the Tritons momentum, beginning the quarter with another 6-0 run to build the lead back to double-digits, 58-46. UC San Diego cut the deficit to nine with 5:31 remaining but were unable to complete the comeback, falling 79-62.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sydney Brown, Bridget Mullings and Emily Cangelosi tallied double-figure points.
• Bridget Mullings recorded a career-high with 13 points.
• Katie Springs tallied a career-high in both points (5) and rebounds (6).
• UC San Diego held the advantage in rebounds (37-36) and second chance points (12-8).
• Illinois State held the advantage in points off turnovers (15-11), bench points (27-15), field goal percentage (51.9% to 36.8%) and three-pointers (9-5).
• The Tritons fall to 0-1 in the all-time series with Illinois State.

UP NEXT
With the loss, the Tritons drop to the losing side of the bracket and will face Stetson on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT in the Cox Pavilion. The winner of that game will face the winner of UAlbany/ETSU on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. for fifth place. 
 
Teams participating in the three-day event include host UNLV, UAlbany, East Tennessee State (ETSU), George Washington, Louisiana Tech, Stetson and UC San Diego.
 
There is no video stream provided but live statistics will be available for all games 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 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 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 earned 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.