LA JOLLA, Calif.– UC San Diego women's basketball fell to California Baptist, 64-50, in the 2023-24 season opener on Monday evening in LionTree Arena. With the loss, the Tritons (0-1) move to 5-20 in the all-times series (0-3 in D-I) with the Lancers (1-0).
 
Freshman Sumayah Sugapong led the Tritons with 16 points in her collegiate debut, while sophomore transfer Rosa Smith also reached double-figures with 10 points and Izzy Forsyth added nine. Katie Springs collected a career-high 11 rebounds, including three offensive boards. Smith led the Tritons with four assists and Parker Montgomery collected three steals in the contest.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Lancers took an early 5-0 lead, the Tritons began to find a rhythm, putting together a 9-1 scoring run to jump in front. CBU answered with a 6-0 scoring run of its own to retake the lead, 12-9, midway through the first quarter. UC San Diego pulled within one point down the stretch, 12-11, but the Lancers closed out the opening period with three points to lead 15-11. 
 
UC San Diego opened the second quarter with back-to-back baskets from Smith and Forsyth to move in front by one, 16-15. The Lancers then went on an 18-4 scoring run to take a commanding, 33-20, lead. The teams traded buckets in the final two minutes and California Baptist took a 39-25 lead into the halftime break. CBU outscored UC San Diego, 24-14, in the period.
 
 The Tritons came out strong to start the second half, making four of the first five shots and putting together a 10-3 scoring run to cut the deficit to single digits, 44-35. CBU responded with an 8-1 scoring run of its own to build the largest lead of the contest, 52-36. UC San Diego closed out the period with two free throws by Denali Pinto and a made layup by Sugapong at the buzzer, but the Lancers still took a 52-40 lead into the final quarter break.
 
The Tritons matched CBU shot-for-shot for more of the final quarter, but were unable to cut into the deficit much more and the Lancers took the season opener, 64-50. UC San Diego shot 29 percent from the field and 17 percent from three-point range in the contest, compared to 48 and 28 respectively for California Baptist.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Four Tritons made their collegiate debut in the contest, including Eri Blithikioti, Erin Condron, Gracie Gallegos and Sumayah Sugapong.
• Two transfers also made their Triton debut, including Rosa Smith and Emma Svoboda.
• Katie Springs recorded a career high with 11 rebounds.
• UC San Diego held the advantage in points off turnovers (18-14) and second chance points (13-3), while CBU had the edge in field goal percentage (48-29), bench points (21-5) and points in the paint (30-24).
• With the loss, UC San Diego moved to 5-19 in the all-time series and 0-3 in the Division I series with California Baptist. 

 UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain home to play host to Life Pacific on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in LionTree Arena for Education Day. Admission is free to all elementary and middle school students. 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.