LA JOLLA, Calif.—The Big West has announced its 2023-24 Women's Basketball All-Conference honors and
Sumayah Sugapong has been named Big West Freshman of the Year, as announced Tuesday by the conference.
Denali Pinto earned All-Big West Honorable Mention along with Sugapong, while
Gracie Gallegos and Sugapong landed on the Big West All-Freshman Team. It is the first All-Big West nod for all three Tritons.
SUMAYAH SUGAPONG » FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR, HONORABLE MENTION, ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Sumayah Sugapong averaged 14.0 points per game to lead all Triton scorers and rank sixth overall in the Big West. The San Diego native was the leading scorer in 15 of UC San Diego's 31 games with 23 double-figure scoring efforts and six 20-point games. Sugapong also led the Tritons with 64 assists (2.1 per game) and with 41 steals (1.3 per game). She finished seventh in the Big West with a .738 free throw percentage (90-of-122) and ranked 17th in three-point field goals (1.2 per game). The true freshman was one of two Tritons to start every game this season and earned her first Big West Player of the Week nod on Dec. 25, 2023. She also took home two UCU Athlete of the Week accolades.
DENALI PINTO » ALL-BIG WEST HONORABLE MENTION
Graduate student
Denali Pinto averaged 11.5 points per game to rank 15th in scoring in the Big West. The Boulder, Colo. native finished first on the team with 59 three-pointers, shooting 32.6 percent and averaging 1.9 per game to rank sixth in the conference. Pinto was the Tritons' leading scorer in eight games and recorded 19 double-figure scoring efforts with two 20-point games. She appeared in 31 games, making 23 starts after returning from a season-ending injury at the start of the 2022-23 season. Pinto was named UCU Athlete of the Week on Nov. 27, 2023.
GRACIE GALLEGOS » BIG WEST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Redshirt freshman
Gracie Gallegos averaged 5.9 points and finished second on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game which ranked 18th overall in the Big West. The Denver, Colo. native shot 39.6 percent from three to lead the Tritons, scoring in double-figures five times and twice collecting double-digit rebounds. She recorded her first collegiate double-double on Feb. 24 in UC San Diego's 69-65 overtime victory at UC Irvine, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
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 Conference 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 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered 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.
