LAS VEGAS–UC San Diego women's basketball fell to East Tennessee State, 55-46, to wrap up the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament on Sunday morning in the Cox Pavilion. The Tritons (2-4) placed sixth in the tournament after dropping the first-ever meeting with the Bucs (6-2).
 
Izzy Forsyth led the Tritons offensively with a career-high 10 points, while Bridget Mullings added nine and Sydney Brown and Parker Montgomery chipped in eight points apiece. Mullings led the team with seven rebounds, while Brown and Forsyth added six each. Grace Talbot led the team in assists with four and Emily Cangelosi added three. Talbot and Forsyth collected a team-high three steals each.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind early 6-2 in the opening quarter, the Tritons went on a 8-2 run to take the lead 10-8 with 2:53 to go. The Bucs closed out the period on a seven-point run to take a 15-10 lead into the first quarter break.
 
The Bucs continued their scoring run into the second quarter, outscoring the Tritons 16-3 to build a 31-13 lead with 3:30 to play in the half. Montgomery and Forsyth hit back-to-back threes to cut into the deficit but UC San Diego trailed 33-21 heading into halftime.
 
The Tritons opened up the second half on a 6-0 scoring run to cut the deficit to single digits, 33-27. UC San Diego outscored the Bucs 10-8 in the period but a timely three by ETSU in the final minutes made it 41-31 heading into the final quarter break.
 
UC San Diego scored on back-to-back layups from Forsyth and Talbot to cut the Bucs' lead to six to open the final period. However, an 8-3 run by ETSU stalled the Tritons' momentum. Brown and Forsyth led another late rally with back-to-back baskets but deficit proved too much to overcome as the Tritons fell, 55-46.
 
TRITON TIDBITS
Izzy Forsyth was the only Triton to score in double-figures. It was also the first time in her career she led the offensive effort for UC San Diego.
The Tritons shot 36.4 percent from the field compared to 33.3 for the Bucs, but UC San Diego went 0-6 at the free-throw line.
ETSU held the advantage in rebounds 45-38 and points off of turnovers 14-6.
With the loss, the Tritons fall to 0-1 in the all-time series with ETSU. 
UC San Diego starters were Madison Baxter, Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Bridget Mullings and Grace Talbot. It was the first career start for Talbot.
 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will return to La Jolla to host crosstown foe San Diego State on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. in LionTree Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com. UC San Diego will then take a break for fall quarter finals, before traveling to the Bay Area to take on Cal (Dec. 16) and San Jose State (Dec. 18).
 
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.