RIVERSIDE, Calif.–After leading by as many as 12 points, UC San Diego women's basketball dropped an 84-76 contest to California Baptist on Monday afternoon in CBU Events Center to open the 2022-23 season.
 
The Tritons (0-1) were led offensively by grad transfer Denali Pinto who finished with 17 points, adding five rebounds and three assists in her UC San Diego debut. Four other Tritons finished with double-figure points, including Julia Macabuhay (13 points), Sydney Brown (12), Bridget Mullings (11) and Emily Cangelosi (10). Brown led the team with seven rebounds and Parker Montgomery.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got off to a slow start in the opening quarter, shooting 1-for-5 to start the contest. CBU then went on an eight-point run to lead 8-3 midway through the first period. UC San Diego answered with an 8-3 run to tie the game at 14, but it was CBU that took the 16-14 lead into the first quarter break.
 
UC San Diego put together a dominant second quarter, outscoring the Lancers 27-17 and shooting 65 percent from the field with five threes. Julia Macabuhay led the Tritons with seven points in the period and UC San Diego took a 41-33 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Tritons carried the momentum into the second half, putting together an 8-0 scoring run to build their largest lead of the contest, 49-37. However, the Lancers answered with a run of their own, outscoring UC San Diego 17-4 to take the lead and held a 57-55 lead heading into the final period.
 
The Lancers outscored the Tritons 27-21 in the final period, holding UC San Diego to 8-of-21 from the field and 3-of-9 from three-point range. After trailing by as many as eight points, the Tritons put up back-to-back layups to make it a one-possession game with 3:26 remaining. However, a pair of timely threes by the Lancers stalled the comeback and CBU went on to secure the 84-76 victory. 
 
QUOTABLE
"I'm obviously disappointed with the response that we had in the second half after really competing and building our lead in the first half," said UC San Diego head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "Not being able to maintain the lead was disappointing not only for our staff but for our team as well. We know the season is long and there are growth opportunities, but we really have to recognize those growth opportunities and make some adjustments." 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons held the statistical advantage in field goal percentage (40.3% to 37.5%), field goals (27-24), and three-pointers (11-8). 
• CBU outrebounded the Tritons 48-34 and went 28-for-33 at the free-throw line compared to 11-for-12 for UC San Diego.
• The Lancers outscored the Tritons 51-35 in the second half.
• Five Tritons scored in double figures including Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Julia Macabuhay, Bridget Mullings and Denali Pinto.
• Four Tritons saw their first minutes in a UC San Diego uniform, including Gabby Louther, Junae Mahan, Denali Pinto and Grace Talbot.
• With the loss, UC San Diego fell to 5-18 in the all-time series with California Baptist. 

UP NEXT
Next week, UC San Diego will travel to Flagstaff, Ariz. to face Northern Arizona on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available 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.