LA JOLLA, Calif.—After trailing by as many as 17, UC San Diego women's basketball mounted a second-half comeback but came up just short in a 74-69 loss to Northern Arizona on Sunday afternoon in LionTree Arena. With the loss, the Tritons (2-3) moved to 0-4 in the all-time series with the Lumberjacks (2-2).
 
Four Tritons finished in double-figures led by freshman Sumayah Sugapong who recorded a new career-high with 19 points. Izzy Forsyth added 13 points, while Parker Montgomery and Rosa Smith chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively. Katie Springs collected a game-high 11 boards while Forsyth added seven. Springs also led the team with two blocks and two steals, while Sugapong collected a team-high four assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded buckets for most of the opening quarter, with neither team leading by more than three points midway through the period. With NAU leading 10-9, Pinto hit a three and Montgomery scored in the paint to give the Tritons the 14-10 advantage. A three from Forsyth gave UC San Diego its largest lead of the quarter, 19-14, with 19 seconds remaining. The Jacks hit a jumper with four seconds on the clock and the Tritons took a 19-16 lead into the first quarter break.
 
NAU opened the second quarter with a 16-4 scoring run to retake the lead, 32-23. The Tritons put together a 6-3 run to cut the deficit to six, 35-29, but the Lumberjacks responded with a 7-3 run to close out the period and take a 42-32 lead into halftime. NAU had the advantage over UC San Diego, 26-13, in the period—the only quarter the Jacks outscored the Tritons in the contest. 
 
Northern Arizona picked up where it left off in the third period, putting together an 11-2 scoring run to build the largest lead of the contest, 53-36. The Tritons then caught fire to mount the comeback with a 15-2 scoring, pulling within four points, 55-51. The Jacks knocked down a jumper with 10 seconds on the clock and took a 57-51 lead into the final quarter break.
 
It was more of the same for UC San Diego to open the final period, scoring six unanswered to cut the deficit to one point, 58-57, with 7:27 to play. A pair of timely threes and five made free throws by the Jacks built the lead back to double digits, 69-59, midway through the period. The Tritons continued to battle down the stretch, closing out the contest with a 4-0 run but the deficit proved too much as NAU won, 74-69.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Four Tritons finished in double figures with Sumayah Sugapong recording a career high 19 points.
• The Tritons outscored the Lumberjacks in all but the second quarter.
• Katie Springs finished with double-figure rebounds for the fourth game this season.
• UC San Diego held the advantage in bench points (14-8) and points in the paint (32-14). NAU had the edge in points off of turnovers (21-11), second chance points (15-4) and made 10 threes compared to five for the Tritons. The teams were even with 37 rebounds apiece.
• Starters were Izzy Forsyth, Parker Montgomery, Rosa Smith, Katie Springs and Sumayah Sugapong.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain home to play host to Penn on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. in LionTree Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics 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 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 84 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.