LA JOLLA, Calif.— UC San Diego women's basketball struggled offensively in the second half to fall to UC Santa Barbara, 59-47, on Saturday afternoon in RIMAC Arena.
 
The Tritons (9-10, 6-4 Big West) were led by Sydney Brown who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, five steals and an assist. Madison Baxter also scored double figures, finishing with 10 points, while Bridget Mullings added six rebounds and a block for UC San Diego.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons came out hot to begin the opening quarter, jumping out to an early 10-2 lead with baskets from four different Tritons. UC San Diego put together a strong quarter on the defensive end as well, forcing six Gaucho turnovers and limiting UCSB to just 3-of-12 from the field. The Tritons took a 17-8 lead into the first period break.
 
It was a different story in the second quarter, with UC Santa Barbara (11-7, 5-4 Big West) outscoring the Tritons 15-6 in the period. UC San Diego was held scoreless for five minutes in the quarter before Brianna Claros knocked down a three to pull the Tritons even at 23-23 heading into the halftime break.  
 
The Gauchos opened the third period on a 5-0 run to take the lead, 28-23, with 8:57 on the clock. UC San Diego cut the lead back down to one, three separate times but UCSB responded each time to maintain the advantage.  The Gauchos closed out the quarter with another 6-0 run and took a 41-34 lead into the final break.
 
After UCSB extended its lead to 15 midway through the final quarter, the Tritons put together a 7-1 run to bring the deficit back to single digits with 2:49 to play. The Tritons continued to battle defensively, but were unable to come up with points on the other end. UC San Diego finished 3-of-11 from the field and 0-of-4 from three point range in the final quarter of play.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sydney Brown recorded her 13th double-digit scoring effort of the season, finishing with 13 points—adding team highs in rebounds (7) and steals (5).
• UC San Diego's .291 field-goal percentage was the lowest of the season since Nov. 26, 2021 against Penn (.282).
• The Tritons tallied double-figure steals for just the third time this season, finishing with 10 in the contest. Sydney Brown led the way with five, while Julia Macabuhay added two.
• With the loss, the Tritons move to 1-5 in the all-time series with UC Santa Barbara.
• UC San Diego's starters consisted of Madison Baxter, Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Julia Macabuhay and Bridget Mullings. 

UP NEXT
The Tritons will begin a four-game road stretch—their longest of the season—traveling to face UC Davis on Feb. 10 and UC Riverside on Feb. 12. Both 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.