LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball fell to Penn, 76-68, on Sunday afternoon in LionTree Arena. With the loss, the Tritons (2-4) moved to 0-2 in the all-time series with the Quakers (4-2).
 
Izzy Forsyth and Denali Pinto led the offense with 17 points apiece, while Sumayah Sugapong finished in double-figures as well with 12 points. Katie Springs led the Tritons with seven rebounds, while Eri Blithikioti and Rosa Smith collected three assists each. Forsyth also led UC San Diego defensively, with four steals and two blocks. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After trading buckets to begin the contest, the Quakers put together a 5-0 scoring run to create distance, 7-2. The teams went back-and-forth for most of the opening quarter before Penn got back-to-back baskets to extend their largest lead, 23-16. The Tritons battled to cut the deficit to four but the Quakers took a 27-21 lead into the first quarter break.
 
After an opening jumper by Penn, the Tritons went on a 7-0 run sparked by five made free throws from Forsyth to cut the deficit to one, 29-28, with 6:25 to play. The Quakers built their lead back to nine points late in the period, 47-38, before a buzzer-beater putback by Sugapong made it 47-40 at the halftime break.
 
The Tritons opened the second half with a 7-2 scoring run to pull back within four, 51-47. Penn responded with an 10-2 run of its own to extend the lead, 61-49. The Quakers closed out the period with a 4-0 run to lead, 65-53, at the final quarter break. 
 
The teams traded baskets through the first half of the final period, with Penn still maintaining a 14-point lead—its largest of the contest—at the media timeout. The Tritons hit back-to-back threes from Parker Montgomery and Gabby Louther to cut the deficit back to single digits, 72-64. UC San Diego continued to battle down the stretch—holding Penn to just 1-of-6 from the floor in the final five minutes—but the Tritons were unable to pull any closer, eventually falling 76-68. 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Denali Pinto matched her career high as a Triton with 17 points. 
• Izzy Forsyth, Denali Pinto and Sumayah Sugapong all finished in double-figures.
• The Tritons held the advantage in points off of turnovers (12-8), second chance points (12-5) and bench points (25-15). Penn had the edge in fast break points (10-2) and points in the paint (38-36), shooting 53 percent from the field compared to 41 for UC San Diego.
• UC San Diego starters were Izzy Forsyth, Parker Montgomery, Rosa Smith, Katie Springs and Sumayah Sugapong.

 UP NEXT
The Tritons will begin a stretch of six games on the road, traveling across town to face San Diego State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Viejas Arena. The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network 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.