HENDERSON, Nev.—No. 4 UC San Diego women's basketball earned the first Division I postseason victory on Thursday afternoon, defeating No. 8 Cal Poly, 59-54, in the Big West Championship quarterfinal in Lee's Family Forum. The Tritons (18-15) erased a nine-point halftime deficit and led for just over one minute total in the contest to secure the comeback victory over the Mustangs (14-18).
Sumayah Sugapong recorded a career-high 29 points, including 10-for-24 from the floor and 8-for-10 from the free throw line, adding six steals.
Parker Montgomery also finished in double figures with 13 points, including three three-pointers.
Kayanna Spriggs led the team with 11 rebounds (5 offensive), setting the Tritons Division I single season record with 243 boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a sluggish start for the Triton offense, as UC San Diego hit just two of its first 10 field goal tries and Cal Poly built a 13-6 lead. With two minutes to play in the first quarter,
Gracie Gallegos came up with a block leading to a transition three-pointer from
Sumayah Sugapong on the other end.
The Mustangs led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter, holding an 11-7 rebounding edge and scoring ten points in the paint. Sugapong scored seven of the Tritons' nine first quarter points.
Trailing by 10 early in the second quarter, Junae Mahan buried a pull-up jumper. Mahan came away with a steal and fed
Parker Montgomery, whose fast break three cut the deficit in half and forced a Cal Poly timeout with 7:49 left in the second.
Sugapong scored a game-high 13 in the first half, but the Tritons trailed 33-24 at the break. Cal Poly shot 54% while holding an 18-9 advantage on the glass.
The third quarter was a turning point in the game, with UC San Diego limiting the Mustangs to just three field goals in 13 tries and only two points in the final six minutes of the period. The Tritons outscored Cal Poly 13-7 in the third and trailed by only three, 40-37, entering the fourth.
With just under eight minutes to play, Sugapong came up with a steal and she fed Montgomery, who knocked down her third three-pointer of the game. UC San Diego trailed by just a bucket, 44-42.
The Tritons hung close, and trailing by a point, Sugapong calmly sank a baseline jumper with 1:07 to play to give UC San Diego its first lead of the game, 53-52.
On the other end, a layup from Cal Poly's Sydney Bourland gave the Mustangs a 54-53 lead with 46 seconds left. After a UC San Diego timeout, Sugapong took the entry and drove to the hoop for a bucket to put the Tritons on top, 55-54.
Two Sugapong free throws in the final 20 seconds sealed the comeback win.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Sumayah Sugapong recorded a career-high 29 points in the contest.
- Kayanna Spriggs set the Tritons' Division I single season rebounds record during the contest. She currently has 243 rebounds this season.
- The Tritons led for 1:05, while Cal Poly led for 38:22. UC San Diego held the advantage in points off turnovers (19-11), second chance points (12-2), bench points (9-5) and fast break points (17-2).
- It is the first Division I postseason win for UC San Diego women's basketball.
- UC San Diego starters were Sumayah Sugapong, Sabrina Ma, Gracie Gallegos, Kayanna Spriggs and Parker Montgomery.
UP NEXT
With Thursday's win, UC San Diego advances to The Big West Championship semifinal for the first time. The fourth seed Tritons will take on top seed Hawai'i on Friday, March 14, at Noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and KSDT radio with live stats on 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 24-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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.
