LA JOLLA, Calif.— UC San Diego women's basketball suffered a 60-59 loss to Long Beach State on Thursday evening in RIMAC Arena. After holding a five-point lead into the final minute of play, the Tritons (10-14, 7-8 Big West) gave up six-consecutive points, including a three with 12 seconds remaining to fall to one of the conference's top teams.
 
UC San Diego was led by Aishah Brown who notched her third double-double of the season with 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Madison Baxter and Sydney Brown also recorded 12 points in the contest, while Brianna Claros recorded a team-high five assists and Parker Montgomery tallied three steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beach (18-5, 11-4 Big West) took an early 5-0 lead in the opening quarter, before the teams traded baskets to a 10-8, LBSU advantage. Long Beach State then went on an 8-3 run to build its lead 18-11 through the first quarter of play.
 
The Tritons opened the second period with a 13-4 run to take their first lead of the game, 24-22, on a three from Madison Baxter. The Beach answered with a run of their own, outscoring UC San Diego 11-2 down the stretch to lead, 33-29, at halftime.
 
Long Beach State extended its lead to six to begin second half, 37-31. The Tritons then put together an impressive 13-2 run, behind three three-pointers from Baxter to retake the lead, 44-39. UC San Diego battled out the final two minutes of the period, to lead 46-43 at the final quarter break.
 
In the final quarter of play, UC San Diego tallied eight of its 13 points on free throws, shooting just 2-of-14 from the field. The Tritons held on to a slim 59-54 lead with 1:57 left on the clock, before LBSU recorded the final six-consecutive points of the game. 
 
With 12 seconds to play, the Beach hit a three from the corner for the go-ahead basket, earning their first lead since early in the third period. The Tritons got three good looks underneath the basket in the final seven seconds but all three took tough bounces off the rim, holding UC San Diego off the board.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• A trio of Tritons led the team with 12 points each, including Madison Baxter, Aishah Brown and Sydney Brown.
• Aishah Brown recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
• This is the eighth contest of the season decided by five or fewer points. UC San Diego holds a 5-3 record in those games.
• With the loss, the Tritons move to 0-4 in the all-time series with LBSU.
• UC San Diego's starters consisted of Madison Baxter, Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Julia Macabuhay and Aishah Brown. 

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will travel north to face Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT in its last road contest of the season. 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 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.