HENDERSON, Nev.—UC San Diego women's basketball will compete in its first Big West Basketball Championship this week in Henderson, Nev. After finishing the regular season in a tied for third place, the Tritons are the No. 4 seed and will face No. 8 Cal Poly on Thursday at 12 p.m. in Lee's Family Forum.
The Mustangs defeated No. 5 UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday afternoon to advance to face the Tritons in the quarterfinal matchup. UC San Diego split the season series with Cal Poly, 1-1.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
DETAILS
Game 33
UC San Diego (17-15, 13-7) vs Cal Poly (14-17, 8-12)
Thursday, March 13 | 12 p.m.
Lee's Family Forum (5,567) | Henderson, Nev.
All-time series: 6-4
This season: L, 56-61 (Jan. 9); W, 66-49 (Feb. 20)
Streak: W1
Watch on ESPN+ |
Live Stats |
Championship Central
| ABOUT THE TRITONS |
ABOUT CAL POLY |
| Roster | Schedule | Stats |
Roster | Schedule | Stats |
| Overall: 17-15 |
Overall: 14-17 |
| Big West: 13-7 |
Big West: 8-12 |
| Home: 9-8 |
Home: 6-8 |
| Away: 8-7 |
Away: 7-9 |
| Neutral: 0-0 |
Neutral: 1-0 |
| vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0 |
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-2 |
| Streak: L1 |
Streak: W1 |
ALL-BIG WEST STANDOUTS
Three Tritons earned All-Big West honors, including
Sumayah Sugapong (First Team),
Sabrina Ma (Honorable Mention) and
Gracie Gallegos (Honorable Mention). Ma, a junior transfer, was named Big West Newcomer of the year.
Sugapong ranks first in the conference in steals (80), assists (120) and field goal attempts (481) and ranks second in total points (458). She also ranks 22nd in the NCAA in total steals, 32nd in steals per game and 30th in field goal attempts. She was named Big West Player of the Week four times during the 2024-25 season.
Ma averaged 10.4 points during the regular season to rank second on the team and 14th in the Big West. Ma ranks second in the conference in three pointers (71, 2.22 per game, 195 attempts), third in three-point percentage (36.4) and in steals (61 total, 1.91 per game).
Gallegos averaging 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the Tritons. She is first on the team in blocks (19), second in rebounds (163) and assists (60) and third in total points (292) and ranks eighth in the conference in steals per game.
HEADED TO HENDERSON
UC San Diego is set to take part in its first ever Big West Championship. The Tritons were not permitted to take part in the conference tournament during their four-year transition to NCAA Division I status but are now fully eligible for postseason participation.
TRITON TAKEAWAYS
UC San Diego currently ranks first in the Big West and 14th nationally in steals (11.7 per game), first in turnovers forced (20.81 per game, 20th nationally) and first in the conference in turnover margin (5.75, 22nd nationally). UC San Diego set its Division I single season record at UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 23, 2025), and currently have 375 total steals.
Five Tritons rank in the top 20 in the Big West in steals.
Sumayah Sugapong ranks first in the conference (80 total, 2.50 per game) and 23rd in the NCAA in total steals (32nd in steals per game).
Parker Montgomery is just behind her in second in the Big West (68 total, 2.13 per game) and
Sabrina Ma ranks third (61 total, 1.91 per game).
Gracie Gallegos ranks sixth in steals per game (1.5) and
Kayanna Spriggs ranks 17th in total steals (39).
STACKING UP AGAINST THE BIG WEST
Sumayah Sugapong ranks third in the Big West in scoring (14.3 points per game), second in total points (458), first in assists (120 total, 3.8 per game), first in steals (80, 2.5 per game), first in field goal attempts (481 total; 30th nationally) and seventh in free throw percentage (76.2).
Sabrina Ma ranks 14th in the conference in scoring (10.4 points per game), second in three-pointers made (71), threes per game (2.22), three point attempts (195) and third in three-point percentage (36.4 percent).
Kayanna Spriggs ranks fourth in total rebounds (224) and sixth in rebounds per game (7.0).
Gracie Gallegos ranks 18th in scoring (9.4 points per game), 13th in total rebounds (151), 14th in rebounds per game (5.3) and 17th in blocked shots (19 total, 0.6 per game).
RECORD BREAKING SEASON
Sumayah Sugapong set the program's Division I single season scoring record at Long Beach State on March 6, and currently has 458 total points breaking her own record (422) set in 2023-24. She currently holds the D-I single season record for steals (80), breaking her own record of 41 from 2023-24. She also holds the Division I single season record for assists with 120.
Additionally, Sugapong (at Stanford, Nov. 29) and
Sabrina Ma (vs La Salle, Dec. 21) both tallied seven steals in a game this season, setting the D-I record. Ma set the D-I single season record for three-pointers (66) on Feb. 27 against CSUN. Sugapong set the D-I single season record for assists in a game (9) at Long Beach State (March 6).
Kayanna Spriggs is eight rebounds away from breaking the program's Division I single season record of 231 (
Katie Springs, 2023-24). She becomes the third Triton in program history to record 200+ rebounds in a Division I season, joining Springs (23-24) and Sydney Brown (21-22; 22-23).
The Tritons set the Division I record for steals in a game (21 vs Occidental, Nov. 4) and steals in a season (375). UC San Diego also set the Division I record for turnovers forced in a season (665).
EXPERIENCED ROSTER
UC San Diego returns 12 Tritons from the 2023-24 squad, including starters
Gracie Gallegos,
Parker Montgomery and
Sumayah Sugapong. Sugapong was named Big West Freshman of the Year and All-Big West Honorable Mention a season ago, recognized alongside Gallegos on the All-Freshman Team.
FRESH FACES
The Tritons added three talented newcomers to the squad during the offseason, signing one incoming true freshman and two transfer scholar-athletes for the 2024-25 season. Freshman guard/forward
Nicki Polocheck is headed to La Jolla after a successful prep career at Memorial Senior High School (Houston, Texas). UC San Diego also added two talented transfers, junior
Sabrina Ma (San Jose State) and senior
Kayanna Spriggs (CSUN).
WELCOMING A PAIR OF TRITONS BACK TO STAFF
UC San Diego welcomes two Tritons back to La Jolla for the 2024-25 season to serve in support roles. Miranda Seto, a 2015 graduate of the UC San Diego women's basketball program, returns to La Jolla as an assistant coach and the Tritons' director of basketball operations. Seto previously served as an assistant at her alma mater Pinewood School and Fever Club Basketball in Los Altos, Calif. As a senior at UC San Diego, Seto was named All-CCAA Honorable Mention and earned first-team accolades as a junior. She was also a three-time CCAA All-Academic honoree for the Tritons.
Additionally, UC San Diego has named former Triton head men's basketball coach Bill Car as the General Manager for both the men's and women's programs. Carr led the Triton men from 2004-07 and spent the last eight years as the head women's basketball coach at Santa Clara. In his new position, Carr will be responsible for implementing and managing a comprehensive basketball name, image and likeness (NIL) program and will serve as a valuable asset toward roster management, recruiting and overall program success for both the Triton men's and women's basketball programs.
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has completed a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the
Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. All UC San Diego sports are now eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
WELCOME TO LIONTREE ARENA
Since it was established nearly three decades ago, the University of California San Diego's RIMAC (Recreation, Intramural and Athletic Complex) Arena has been home to countless athletic competitions, graduations, concerts and other events that are imprinted on the memories of thousands of UC San Diego alumni, students, friends and visitors.
In June of 2022, UC San Diego announced that RIMAC Arena has been named LionTree Arena in recognition of a $5 million gift for scholar-athletes from LionTree, an independent investment and merchant bank with expertise in technology, media and the digital economy. LionTree was founded by UC San Diego alumnus Aryeh B. Bourkoff, who also serves as the firm's CEO. LionTree's gift is the largest ever received by UC San Diego Athletics, establishing the LionTree Endowed Scholarship Fund to support scholar-athletes.
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.
