LA JOLLA, Calif.— UC San Diego women's basketball defeated Air Force, 55-43, on Saturday afternoon in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (2-3) led from start to finish after outscoring the Falcons (3-3) 22-4 in the opening quarter, evening the all-time series at 1-1.
 
Erin Condron led the Tritons with 12 points, while Makayla Rose and Lev Feiman also finished in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Rose led the team with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Condron finished with three blocks. In her first start of the season, Rosa Smith contributed nine points, five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got off to a hot start in the opening quarter, quickly jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Rose scored six points as part of an eight-point run by the Tritons midway through the period to make it 14-2. Feiman and Dymonique Maxie both scored back-to-back baskets to close out the quarter and lead 22-4 at the first quarter break. UC San Diego scored 16 of their 22 points off turnovers, creating 10 takeaways in the opening frame.
 
The teams battled early in the second quarter before back-to-back threes from Smith and Rose extended the Tritons' lead to 32-8 midway through the period. UC San Diego cooled off from the field in the closing minutes of the quarter but still carried a 32-14 lead into the halftime intermission. Rose and Feiman led the Tritons with nine points and eight points, respectively, in the first half.
 
Both teams struggled to get going offensively in the second half. Early in the frame, Air Force scored on back-to-back baskets to extend a 10-point scoring run dating back to the third period. Condron ended the drought for the Tritons with a layup to make it 34-18, midway through the quarter. Another basket in the paint from Condron and a jumper by Rose kept UC San Diego in the fight, but the Falcons outscored the Tritons, 10-6, in the quarter to make it 38-24 at the final quarter break.
 
The teams traded blows through most of the fourth quarter. The Falcons put together a mini five-point run but a key three by Smith stalled the Air Force momentum at 40-29. With under three minutes to play, another three-pointer from Sabrina Ma pushed UC San Diego's lead back to fifteen, 50-35.  Each time the visitors mounted a comeback, the Tritons answered and eventually went on to secure the victory, 55-43.
 
QUOTABLE
"I'm very excited about our win," said head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "I thought that we came out and set the tone early with our defense. People were really working hard to commit to our principles and our defense and our rebounding to get us out in transition. Second half, I thought we struggled in third quarter a little bit. Obviously, they upped their intensity. They're an excellent team, but I was proud of our team making plays down the stretch. We played a lot of different combinations, a lot of people came in. I know Michaela Fairwell hasn't played a lot, but I thought she came in and gave us great poise and I'm just very proud and happy for our team. They worked really hard. I think we've seen the incremental gains of improvement, and I'm glad that their efforts have paid off."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sabrina Ma recorded her 1,000th career point in the contest, reaching the milestone on a three-point basket late in the fourth quarter.
• UC San Diego had the advantage in points off of turnovers (25-6), second chance points (11-7), points in the paint (34-22) and fast break points (10-6). 
• The Tritons are now 1-1 in the all-time series with Air Force.
• UC San Diego starters were Erin Condron, Lev Feiman, Sabrina Ma, Makayla Rose and Rosa Smith.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain in La Jolla to play host to Occidental on Monday at 6 p.m. in LionTree Arena. The game 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.