LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball secured its second straight Big West victory, defeating Cal State Fullerton, 71-58, on Saturday afternoon in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (6-8, 2-1 Big West) moved to 4-3 in the all-time series with the Titans (5-9, 1-3 Big West) behind a pair of career days for Denali Pinto and Katie Springs.
 
Pinto led the team with 28 points—a career-best in her UC San Diego tenure—finishing 7-for-9 from three-point range and 10-of-16 from the field. Springs finished one point shy of her first double-double with career highs in rebounds (20), points (9) and steals (4). Sumayah Sugapong also finished in double figures with 18 points for the Tritons and added two steals. Parker Montgomery matched her career high with seven boards and led team with three assists, while four other Tritons finished with two assists each. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons opened the contest on a 9-2 scoring run to build an early lead, but the Titans scored six unanswered to pull within one, 9-8. The teams traded baskets for the second half of the period and UC San Diego took a 13-12 advantage into the first quarter break. Pinto led the Tritons with eight points in the period.
 
UC San Diego held CSUF scoreless through the first 3:30 of the second quarter, knocking down two three-pointers from Sugapong and Pinto to go up by seven, 19-12. The Tritons put together a nine-point scoring run midway through the period to build their largest lead of the half, 30-17. The Titans closed out the final two minutes with back-to-back threes but a late jumper by Sugapong put UC San Diego up 32-23 at halftime. 
 
Pinto added eight more points in the period and led UC San Diego with 16 points in the first half.
 
The Tritons picked up right where they left off in the second half with a quick three by Pinto to lead 35-23. UC San Diego maintained a 12-point advantage midway through the period before the Titans scored 10 unanswered to make it, 41-39, with 2:24 to play in the period. The Tritons continued to battle and a timely three by Gallegos extended UC San Diego's lead to eight with under 30 seconds on the clock. The Titans knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds to make it 49-43 at the final quarter break.
 
UC San Diego started the final quarter strong, outscoring the Titans 16-5 in first half of the period to build a 17-point lead—their largest of the contest. The Tritons went 8-for-10 at the charity stripe down the stretch and cruised to the 71-58 victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Denali Pinto and Sumayah Sugapong scored in double figures.
• Denali Pinto recorded a new career high as a Triton with 28 points—her first 20+ point game for UC San Diego.
  • Her all-time career high was 38 at Colorado School of Mines versus Fort Lewis (Feb. 11, 2022).
• Katie Springs recorded career highs in points, rebounds and steals, finishing in double-figure boards for the eighth time this season and her first 20-rebound performance.
  • Her 20 boards set the Tritons' Division I single game record for rebounds in a contest.
• Parker Montgomery matched her career high in rebounds.
• The Tritons held the advantage in rebounds (39-28), three-pointers (10-5) and second chance points (9-6). Cal State Fullerton had the edge in points off turnovers (14-9), bench points (33-6) and points in the paint (26-16).
• UC San Diego starters were Izzy Forsyth, Parker Montgomery, Denali Pinto, Katie Springs and Sumayah Sugapong.
• The Tritons are now 4-3 in the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton.

 UP NEXT 
The Tritons will travel to face Long Beach State on Thursday, Jan. 11 before hosting Cal Poly on Saturday, Jan. 13. 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.