RIVERSIDE, Calif.— Despite a career night for
Bridget Mullings, UC San Diego women's basketball fell to UC Riverside, 68-48, on Saturday evening in SRC Arena.
The Tritons (9-11, 6-5 Big West) were led by Mullings with a career-high 12 points, adding four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Julia Macabuhay and
Parker Montgomery chipped in eight points each, while
Sydney Brown tallied a team-high eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons opened the game with an 8-5 run led by
Julia Macabuhay and
Bridget Mullings, before the offense went cold. The Highlanders went on a 6-0 run in the closing minutes to take a 11-8 lead into the first quarter break.
The teams traded points to begin the second period before UC San Diego put together a 11-2 run sparked by back-to-back layups from Mullings. A three from
Parker Montgomery with 29 seconds remaining gave the Tritons their largest lead of the first half and UC San Diego took a 28-22 advantage into the halftime break.
The Tritons shot 41 percent (13-of-32) from the field, while holding the Highlanders to just 6-of-24 from the field.
It was all Highlanders in the third quarter, outscoring the Tritons 22-2 in the first seven minutes of the period. UC San Diego closed the period with a 5-3 run but trailed 35-47 heading into the final quarter break.
UCR extended its lead to 18 midway through the final period, 57-39, but the Tritons continued to battle. UC San Diego put together a 7-point sparked by a three from Montgomery to make it 57-46 with 3:49 remaining. However, the comeback fell short with the Highlanders outscoring the Tritons 11-2 to close out the contest.
UC Riverside's perimeter shooting proved to be the difference in the second half, with the Highlanders hitting 9-of-13 (69 percent) from beyond the arc.
TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
The Tritons will continue their four-game road stretch—the longest of the season—traveling to face UC Irvine on Feb. 15 and at Hawai'i on Feb. 17 (9 p.m. PT). Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Thursday's game will be on Spectrum Sports. Live statistics will be available for both 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 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.
