HONOLULU—UC San Diego women's basketball fell to Hawai'i, 49-44, on Saturday evening in the Stan Sheriff Center. The Tritons (14-14, 10-6 Big West) forced 22 turnovers for the Rainbow Wahine (20-6, 14-2 Big West) in a defensive battle.
Gracie Gallegos and
Sumayah Sugapong led the team with 12 points apiece, while
Parker Montgomery finished with a career-high 11 rebounds and team-best five steals. Gallegos also led the team with two assists and Sugapong added three steals for the Tritons.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hawai'i took an early 5-0 to open the contest before Gallegos knocked down a three to get the Tritons on the board. A jumper by Sugapong and a layup by Gallegos cut the deficit to one, 8-7, with 4:09 on the clock. UC San Diego continued to battle down the stretch, forcing seven first-quarter turnovers but the Tritons trailed 11-9 at the first break. UC San Diego showed strong defensive efforts with five steals and eleven total rebounds in the quarter.
UC San Diego cooled off offensively to start the second period, going 0-for-5 from the field to start the quarter. The Rainbow Wahine extended their lead to as many as 10 before a three by
Sabrina Ma and a free throw by Sugapong pulled the Tritons back within six, 24-18. UC San Diego continued its strong defensive performance, forcing seven turnovers for UH while committing just one in the period. The Rainbow Wahine took a 26-19 advantage into the halftime intermission.
The Tritons offensive struggles continued in the third quarter, with Hawai'i outscoring UC San Diego, 12-4. With the scoring drought, UH took a 38-23 lead into the final quarter break.
During the fourth quarter, UC San Diego outscored the Rainbow Wahine, 21-11, with five different Tritons contributing points in the period. Gallegos scored on a fast-break jumper and a three-pointer assisted by Junaé Mahan to put together an early 6-1 run. Midway through the period, the Tritons put together a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to six, 44-38, with 2:21 to play. UC San Diego's momentum stalled after three consecutive missed shots and UH stayed in front, taking the contest, 49-44.
TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will play host to CSUN on Thursday before traveling to face Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. The games 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 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 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.
