SEATTLE— UC San Diego women's basketball fell to No. 22 Washington, 67-50, on Friday evening in Alaska Airlines Arena. The Tritons (3-4) came out strong against the Huskies (7-0) in the first half, holding a three-point advantage at the break against the program's first top-25 opponent of the Division I era.
 
Rosa Smith put up a game-high 19 points in her hometown, finishing 8-for-14 from the floor while also leading the team with three assists and two blocks. Erin Condron recorded her second double-double of the season, collecting 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds while also leading the team with three steals and two blocks. Sabrina Ma finished with nine points and two steals, while Makayla Rose tallied five points, five rebounds and two assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Washington got the game started with a 5-0 run, but the Tritons quickly responded. Back-to-back baskets by Smith sparked a 16-0 scoring run to give UC San Diego a 16-5 advantage with 2:47 on the clock. The Huskies countered with a five-point swing to end the Tritons' run but a three-pointer at the buzzer by Smith gave UC San Diego a 21-12 lead at the first quarter break.
 
The second period started with a six-point run by the Huskies to close the gap, 21-17. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with a Smith three building the largest lead of the quarter for the Tritons, 26-19. Washington got the final shot of the quarter and UC San Diego took a 30-27 lead into the halftime intermission. Smith led the Tritons with 15 first-half points.
 
Washington put together a 9-1 scoring run to open the second half, with three quick 3-pointers to pull back in front, 36-31. The Tritons continued to battle with a pair of threes by Ma, but UW extended its lead to as many as 10 after scoring on six consecutive possessions down the stretch. A jumper by Smith in the final 30 seconds made it 53-45 in favor of the home team at the final quarter break.
 
The Tritons struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the final period, going 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. A jumper by Smith early in the quarter cut the deficit back to six, 53-47, but UC San Diego was unable to pull closer. The Tritons' defense held UW to 4-for-11 from the floor in the quarter but the Huskies went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe to maintain their advantage. Washington eventually secured the 67-50 victory.
 
QUOTABLE
"I'm very proud of our team's effort tonight," said head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "I think that we came out and we really competed for 40 minutes. We took a really good Washington team to the edge. I know the final score might not have indicated how competitive the game was, but I was really proud of our team. I thought we locked in defensively. We got some great efforts from the hometown hero, Rosa Smith. She did a great job, and Erin Condron with a double-double. We had people really step up and compete, and we know that's the foundation is competing. We can add, we can work on our offense, we can work on our defense, make more free throws. But when we compete, we can win any game on our schedule. We'll have to take this with us—the hurt of this game—to Portland State and really battle."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Erin Condron recorded a career high 15 rebounds and recorded her second double-double of the season.
• Rosa Smith scored a season high 19 points, her most points scored since joining the Tritons in 2023-24.
• UC San Diego forced 22 turnovers for the Huskies, which matched their season high.
• The Tritons are now 0-1 in the all-time series with Washington.
• UC San Diego starters were Erin Condron, Lev Feiman, Sabrina Ma, Makayla Rose and Rosa Smith.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain in the Pacific Northwest, taking on Portland State on Sunday at 2 p.m. 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.