LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball will make its first appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, playing in a First Four matchup with No. 16 seed Southern on Wednesday.
 
The No. 16-seeded Tritons (20-15) will face the Jaguars (20-14) at 6 p.m. PT in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA. The winner will face the No. 1 overall seeded Bruins on Friday at 7 p.m. PT.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com. It is the first nationally televised game in program history for the Tritons.
 
DETAILS
Game 36
UC San Diego (20-15) vs Southern (20-14)
Wednesday, March 20 | 6 p.m. PT
Pauley Pavilion (13,800) | Los Angeles, Calif.
All-time series: First meeting
Watch on ESPNU | Live Stats
 

ABOUT THE TRITONS	ABOUT SOUTHERN
Roster | Schedule | Stats	Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 20-15	Overall: 20-14
Big West: 13-7	SWAC: 15-3
Home: 9-8	Home: 9-2
Away: 8-7	Away: 8-10
Neutral: 3-0	Neutral: 3-2
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0	vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1
Streak: W3	Streak: W3

 
NO STRANGERS TO THE DANCE
UC San Diego is making its first appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament, but the Tritons are no strangers to the madness of March. The women's basketball program has made 18 total NCAA appearances, including 13 at the Division II level and five in Division III. UC San Diego's best finish came in the 2006-07 season when the Tritons made it to the NCAA Division II National Semifinal, falling to Southern Connecticut State, 57-53. 
 
During UC San Diego head coach Heidi VanDerveer's tenure, the Tritons made six appearances in D-II (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). UC San Diego was set to compete in the West Region Quarterfinal in 2020 before the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Tritons' clinching the automatic bid by winning the 2025 Big West Tournament, they have extended a six-season streak of qualifying for the NCAA post-season, when eligible. Coach VanDerveer holds a 4-5 record in the NCAA Tournament, with the Tritons advancing as far as the Division II West Region Final in 2016.
 
ONE OF ONE
UC San Diego is the first program ever to have both its men's and women's teams compete in the NCAA Tournament in their first season of eligibility. The Triton men are the No. 12 seed, facing No. 5 Michigan on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT in Denver, Colo. UC San Diego transitioned from Division II to Division I in 2020 and was ineligible for postseason play during the four-year NCAA reclassification period.
 
SAN DIEGO IS A BASKETBALL CITY
America's Finest City will have four teams dancing in March. In addition to UC San Diego's men's and women's programs earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament, San Diego State will send its men's and women's teams as well. It is just the second time ever that the city has had two teams earn a bid on the women's side, the last time being 1993.
 
BIG WEST CHAMPIONS
UC San Diego earned its bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the 2025 Big West Championship in dramatic fashion in Henderson, Nev. The No. 4 seeded Tritons overcame an 11-point deficit in the quarterfinal matchup with No. 8 Cal Poly, 59-54, taking their first lead with 1:10 remaining in the contest. UC San Diego then knocked off the No. 1 seed Hawai'i in the semifinals with a last second layup by Sumayah Sugapong to win, 51-49. The Tritons were leading by as many as 27 in the contest before the Rainbow Wahine rallied late. UC San Diego outscored UH, 41-18, in the first half and the 'Bows outscored the Tritons, 31-10, in the second half. UC San Diego took the championship game over No. 3 UC Davis by a score of 75-66.
 
SENSATIONAL SUMAYAH
Sophomore Sumayah Sugapong was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2025 Big West Championship after averaging 19 points in three games in Henderson, Nev. Sugapong also collected 14 rebounds, eight steals and six assists in three games to help the Tritons clinch a berth to their first NCAA Division I Tournament. The San Diego native shot 40.4 percent from the field (23-of-57) and 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line. 
 
Sugapong recorded a career-high 29 points and added six steals to spark a comeback victory over Cal Poly in Thursday's quarterfinal. On Friday, she scored the game winner with .2 seconds left to upset the No. 1 seed Hawai'i and send the Tritons to the finals. The play earned No. 3 on ESPN's Sports Center Top 10. In the championship, Sugapong tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists to clinch the conference title for UC San Diego.
 
PLAYOFF PARKER
Graduate student Parker Montgomery averaged 12.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 39.2 minutes to earn a spot on the Big West Championship All-Tournament Team. The Porter Ranch, Calif. native returned for her fifth season in La Jolla in 2024-25 and made the most of her first postseason appearance. Montgomery is the only Triton to compete in all four seasons of the reclassification period. She finished 9-of-25 (36 percent) to lead the Tritons from beyond the arc in the three-game stretch in Henderson, Nev.
 
GAMER GRACIE
Redshirt sophomore Gracie Gallegos was a standout for the Tritons in the Big West Championship, averaging 10.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Gallegos collected a career-high 24 points to propel UC San Diego past UC Davis in the title game. She led the team with eight assists and added three steals and two blocks for the week.
 
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 total points (515), steals (88), assists (120) and field goal attempts (538) and third in points per game (14.7). She also ranks 16th in the NCAA in total steals, 31st in steals per game and eighth in field goal attempts. She was named Big West Player of the Week four times during the 2024-25 season. 
 
Ma averages 10.1 points to rank second on the team and 16th in the Big West. Ma ranks second in the conference in three pointers (73) and three-point attempts (208) and third in threes per game (2.09), three-point percentage (35.1) and in steals (66 total, 1.89 per game). 
 
Gallegos is averaging 9.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game for the Tritons. She is first on the team in blocks (21), second in rebounds (183) and assists (68) and third in total points (324). Gallegos ranks 11th in the conference in steals per game and 13th in rebounding
 
TRITON TAKEAWAYS
UC San Diego currently ranks first in the Big West and 20th nationally in steals (11.3 per game), first in turnovers forced (20.14 per game, 27th nationally) and first in the conference in turnover margin (5.31, 28th nationally). UC San Diego set its Division I single season record at UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 23, 2025), and currently has 397 total steals. 
 
Four Tritons rank in the top 20 in the Big West in steals. Sumayah Sugapong ranks first in the conference (88 total, 2.50 per game) and 16th in the NCAA in total steals (31st in steals per game). Parker Montgomery is just behind her in second in the Big West (70 total, 2.00 per game) and Sabrina Ma ranks third (66 total, 1.89 per game). Gracie Gallegos ranks ninth in total steals (48) and 11th in steals per game (1.4) 
 
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 515 total points breaking her own record (422) set in 2023-24. She currently holds the program's D-I single season record for steals (88), breaking her own record of 41 from 2023-24. She also holds the Division I single season record for assists with 126.
 
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 Tritons' D-I record. Ma set the D-I single season record for three-pointers (73) 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 holds the program's Division I single season record for rebounds with 247 boards this season. She becomes the third Triton in program history to record 200+ rebounds in a Division I season, joining Katie 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 (397). UC San Diego also set the Division I record for turnovers forced in a season (705). 
 
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 came 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). 
 
NYGAARD NAMED ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
Vanessa Nygaard joined the coaching staff in 2024-25 as associate head coach for the Tritons. Nygaard brings a wealth of experience to La Jolla, with over 20 years coaching at the high school, college and professional levels. Most recently, Nygaard served as head coach of the Phoenix Mercury from 2022 to 2023. She also served as an assistant for the Las Vegas Aces (2021) and San Antonio Stars (2008), helping the team to appear in the 2008 WNBA Finals. Nygaard spent 14 years coaching the girls' basketball team at Windward School in Los Angeles from 2008 to 2021 where she led the team to three state titles in 2013, 2017 and 2018, and five sectional and three regional championships. 
 
Nygaard's playing career spanned six seasons as a forward in the WNBA after being selected in the fourth round (39th overall pick) of the 1998 draft by the New York Liberty. A standout for Tara VanDerveer's squad at Stanford from 1993 to 1998, Nygaard helped the Cardinal to three Final Four appearances and a 113-14 overall record (69-2, Pac-10). She set Stanford's individual record for career made three-pointers and was an All-Pac 10, All-Pac 10 Academic and Honorable Mention All-American in 1998. 
 
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 named former Triton head men's basketball coach Bill Carr 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.
 
THREE BIG WEST TITLES
UC San Diego Athletics has secured three Big West Championships since joining the conference in 2020. The first conference regular season title was won by the baseball program in 2023 and the men's basketball team also won the regular season crown this year. Both the men's and women's basketball programs were crowned tournament champions at the Big West Championships in 2024-25. 
 
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.