BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball dropped its Big West opener to Cal State Bakersfield, 52-48, on Thursday evening in the Icardo Center. The Tritons (4-8, 0-1 Big West) held a six-point advantage into the final three minutes before the Roadrunners (4-6, 1-0 Big West) completed a late comeback. With the loss, the Tritons move to 4-3 in the Division I series with CSUB.
 
Izzy Forsyth led the offense with 16 points, adding nine rebounds—including seven offensive boards. Denali Pinto also scored in double figures with 14 points, adding nine rebounds and Gracie Gallegos added eight points for UC San Diego. Katie Springs tallied double-digit rebounds for the seventh time this season, finishing one shy of her career high with 15 boards. Eri Blithikioti led the team with four assists, while Gallegos and Pinto added three apiece.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, shooting 3-of-10 from the field in the opening six minutes to make it 6-6 at the first media timeout. The Roadrunners hit a three out of the break but the Tritons responded by knocking down three consecutive threes, including back-to-back shots from Forsyth to lead 15-9 at the end of the first period. 
 
The Tritons extended their lead to eight, 19-11, with under seven minutes to play in the second quarter. CSUB then put together a six-point run to make it a one-possession game, 19-17, with 4:13 to play. The Roadrunners pulled even, 20-20, with a timely three with just under two minutes to play and hit two more to take the lead, 26-22. Pinto answered with a three of her own with six seconds to play and the Tritons trailed 25-26 at the halftime break.
 
UC San Diego got into early foul trouble with four different Tritons picking up two in the first half. 
 
The Tritons were tough on defense to begin the second half, holding Cal State Bakersfield to just five points in the third quarter. UC San Diego held the Roadrunners to just 2-of-15 (13.3 percent) from the floor and 0-of-5 from three-point range. The Tritons put together an 8-0 scoring run midway through the period and took a 37-31 lead into the final quarter break.
 
UC San Diego maintained a six-point lead as late as 2:32 to play before the Roadrunners put together a 10-0 to close out the contest, 52-48. The Tritons were held to 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from the field and 2-of-6 from three-point range in the final period. 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Izzy Forsyth and Denali Pinto scored in double-figures.
• Katie Springs recorded her seventh game with double-figure rebounds and finished one shy of her career high.
• CSUB had the edge in most statistical categories including points off of turnovers (24-8), second chance points (13-8), points in the paint (20-12) and fast break points (15-2), while UC San Diego held the advantage in rebounds (48-32) and bench points (11-10).
• UC San Diego starters were Eri Blithikioti, Izzy Forsyth, Parker Montgomery, Denali Pinto and Sumayah Sugapong.
• The Tritons are now 8-13 in the all-time series with Cal State Bakersfield and 4-3 in the D-I series. 

UP NEXT 
UC San Diego will play host to UC Santa Barbara in their Big West home opener on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. and remain home to host Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 6 at 2 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 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.