LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball defeated La Salle, 69-53, on Saturday afternoon in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (4-9) forced 24 turnovers for the Explorers (7-7), matching their highest turnover total of the season.
 
The Tritons were led by Kayanna Spriggs with seasons highs in both points (17) and rebounds (15) for her first double-double of the season. Sumayah Sugapong matched Spriggs with 17 points and collected a team-best five assists. Gracie Gallegos, Sabrina Ma and Parker Montgomery all finished in double-figure points as well with 11 apiece. Ma finished with a career-high seven steals, matching the Tritons' Division I record set by Sugapong earlier this season at Stanford.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After La Salle took an early 4-3 lead, the Tritons went on a 10-1 run to jump in front, 13-5. During the scoring run, UC San Diego held the Explorers to just 1-of-9 from the field to close out the quarter. The Tritons played tough defense down the stretch and took a 17-9 advantage into the first quarter break.
 
The teams traded shots back and forth to begin the second period to maintain a double-figure advantage for UC San Diego. A three by Gallegos extended the Tritons largest lead of the first half, 25-13, with 6:06 to play. La Salle then put together an 11-2 scoring run to close out the second period and cut the lead to three at halftime, 27-24.
 
La Salle cut the lead to one point to open the quarter, but the Tritons responded with a 10-2 scoring run to create distance once again, 37-28. UC San Diego extended its lead, 46-32, midway through the period with another seven-point run sparked by a three from Ma. The Tritons closed out the quarter with a 6-2 run to build their largest lead of the contest, 52-36.
 
 The teams were evenly matched in the final quarter of play, with 17 points for both squads in the period. UC San Diego maintained its double-figure advantage for the final quarter of play behind six points for both Sugapong and Montgomery—including 6-for-6 from the free throw line from Sugapong. 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sabrina Ma matched the program's Division I record with seven steals in the contest.
• Kayanna Spriggs recorded a season-high in rebounds—just two shy of her career high—and in points for her first double-double with the Tritons. 
• The Tritons had the edge in points off turnovers (26-9), forced turnovers (24-14), threes (7-2) and second chance points (12-8).
• La Salle held the advantage in rebounds (35-28), bench points (18-2), fast break points (12-10) and points in the paint (32-28).
• It was the first all-time meeting between UC San Diego and La Salle.
• UC San Diego starters were Sumayah Sugapong, Sabrina Ma, Gracie Gallegos, Kayanna Spriggs and Parker Montgomery.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will take a week off for the holidays before returning to play in LionTree Arena on Dec. 29 against Life Pacific. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available for all games 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.