FULLERTON, Calif.— Julia Macabuhay tallied a season-best 26 points to lead UC San Diego women's basketball to a 78-72 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday evening in Titan Gym.
 
Sydney Brown also scored in double figures with 17 points, adding eight rebounds. Emily Cangelosi led the Tritons (11-14, 8-8 Big West) with a career-best 12 rebounds and team-high four assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons took the early 7-4 lead, before CSU Fullerton (10-15, 5-10 Big West) tallied back-to-back baskets to earn the advantage. The teams traded the lead back-and-forth four times, with neither team leading by more than a possession. Brianna Claros sank a layup with :02 on the clock to make it 17-18, Fullerton at the first quarter break.
 
It was more of the same to open the second period, with three ties and five lead-changes before Parker Montgomery knocked down a three to give UC San Diego the 33-29 lead with 4:19 on the clock. The Titans then went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead and held the advantage into the halftime break, 37-35.
 
The teams traded a one-point lead in the early minutes of the second half, before the Titans used a 5-point run to create some space at 46-42. With 1:26 left in the quarter, Izzy Forsyth knocked in a free throw and a jumper to pull the Tritons within one point, 51-52. Another basket by Forsyth with 41 seconds remaining made it a 53-54 game heading into the final quarter.
 
The Titans held on to the lead through the first three minutes of the final quarter, before Macabuhay hit a layup and three-pointer to give the Tritons the 62-59 advantage. UC San Diego outscored Fullerton, 16-6, in the final four minutes to secure the 78-72 victory in its final road game of the season.
 
QUOTABLE
"Obviously very excited for a win that really we had to earn from start to finish," said UC San Diego head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "I don't think we came out with maybe the focus that we needed, but I feel like we responded and had people step up. Julia [Macabuhay] coming in with not just her scoring, but her tempo and her grit. She is a winner. Julia is a flat out winner. 
 
We had other people step up as well—Syd [Brown] made big shots in the second half. Izzy Forsyth came in and gave us great minutes. She hit some tough shots. And I thought we just settled in, in terms of understanding what we needed to do defensively and communicating. Things that we harp on—no easy baskets. But very proud of our team and we'll enjoy this one."

TRITON TIDBITS

• Julia Macabuhay tallied a season-best 26 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point range and 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
• Sydney Brown notched her 18th double-digti scoring effort of the season, with 17 points.
• Emily Cangelosi recorded a career-high 12 rebounds and matched her career high with four assists.
• The Tritons outscored CSUF 25-18 in the final quarter to secure the victory.
• With the win, UC San Diego improves to 3-1 in the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton, including sweeping the series this season.
• UC San Diego's starters consisted of Madison Baxter, Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Brianna Claros and Aishah Brown. 

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will return home to close out the 21-22 season with two games in RIMAC Arena next week. The Tritons will play host to CSU Bakersfield on Thursday at 7 p.m. for Blue and Gold Night and celebrate the seniors prior to taking on Cal Poly on Saturday at 4 p.m. The games 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.