LA JOLLA, Calif.— UC San Diego women's basketball secured a dominating 75-45 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (5-4) marked the opening of their Big West schedule with their fifth consecutive win over the Beach (0-8).
Rosa Smith led the offense with an impressive 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting and four threes, also recording five assists, four rebounds and two steals. It was her most points scoring since joining the Tritons in 2023-24.
Erin Condron tallied a career-best 19 points and collected seven boards, five assists, three steals and one block.
Dymonique Maxie finished with nine points, a team high six assists and three steals.
Makayla Rose also led the team with three steals and Junaé Mahan collected eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beach got the contest started with a three-pointer, but Ma quickly answered with a three for the Tritons to even the score. Smith sparked a 14-point scoring run for UC San Diego, scoring nine in the run in the stretch. Smith and Ma knocked down back-to-back threes to give the Tritons a 17-4 advantage. LBSU ended the run with another three, but UC San Diego scored the final six points of the quarter to lead 23-7 at the break.
The Tritons opened the second quarter on an 8-2 scoring run, highlighted by four points from Condron. Junaé Mahan and Smith score back-to-back layups to build the largest lead of the quarter for UC San Diego, 35-11. The Tritons maintained the momentum down the stretch and took a 39-16 advantage into the halftime intermission.
After a quick three by the Beach to open the second half, UC San Diego scored 11 unanswered including three consecutive 3-pointers. Smith knocked down back-to-back threes to make it 50-19 in favor of the home team. Condron found her rhythm in the second half of the period, scoring five of the Tritons' 11 points to close out the quarter up, 61-32.
Condron continued to have the hot hand to begin the final period, scoring on back-to-back baskets. A layup by Maxie extended a six-point run to open the quarter and give the Tritons a 67-32 advantage.
Michaela Fairwell connected back-to-back chances with a jumper and a three-pointer to give UC San Diego its largest lead of the contest, 72-35. LBSU found a bit of momentum in the final four minutes, putting together an 8-0 run. A three-pointer by
Niya Price stopped the drought for UC San Diego and the Tritons cruised to a 75-45 victory in their Big West opener.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Rosa Smith recorded her highest point total in a Triton uniform (27), finishing three points shy of her career high (30) and four points from the UC San Diego Division I single game record (31).
- Erin Condron recorded a career high 19 points, surpassing her previous mark from earlier this season.
- UC San Diego had the advantage in points off turnovers (32-10), second chance points (14-8), points in the paint (34-14), fast break points (16-12) and bench points (12-7).
- The Tritons are now 5-6 in the all-time series with Long Beach State.
- UC San Diego starters were Erin Condron, Sabrina Ma, Dymonique Maxie, Makayla Rose and Rosa Smith.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will take a break next week for fall quarter finals before traveling to face California Baptist on Monday, Dec. 15. 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.
