SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball secured a 52-49 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Thursday evening in the Thunderdome. Makayla Rose scored the game-winning layup with 6.5 seconds on the clock to propel the Tritons (14-6, 9-1 Big West) over the Gauchos (15-4, 7-3 Big West).
 
Makayla Rose and Dymonique Maxie led the Tritons with 11 points apiece, while Sabrina Ma finished with 10 and Erin Condron chipped in nine. Condron led the team with nine rebounds and Ma collected eight, with two blocked shots each. Maxie and Rosa Smith collected four assists apiece.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, battling to an 8-4 Triton advantage midway through the opening period. UC San Diego's defense held the Gauchos to just 1-for-8 from the field in the first four minutes and Rose and Maxie provided a one-two punch in the paint. The Tritons continued to apply pressure inside with back-to-back layups from Rose and Condron to build a five-point advantage, 13-8. UCSB scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 13-12, in favor of the visitors at the break.
 
The teams traded three-pointers early in the second quarter, tying the game at 18 with just over eight minutes on the clock. Back-to-back threes sparked an eight-point run for UCSB to make it 26-18 with 6:03 in the half. The Triton defense locked down once again, holding the Gauchos to 1-of-7 from the field in the closing minutes. Nicki Polocheck knocked down back-to-back threes for the visitors to close the gap to one point. UC Santa Barbara led 28-27 at the halftime intermission. 
 
An early three by Ma to open the second half gave the Tritons the lead once again, 30-28. Maxie and Ma took control for UC San Diego, combining for a 10-2 scoring run to make it 37-30 in favor of the Tritons. UCSB outscored the Tritons 4-2 in the final three minutes, but UC San Diego still took a 39-34 advantage into the final quarter break.
 
UC Santa Barbara came out firing to begin the fourth period, sinking two 3-pointers in the opening minute. The Gauchos scored 10 unanswered points to retake the lead, 47-41, midway through the quarter. Rose ended the run with a jumper in the paint and Maxie knocked down two free throws to make it a one-possession game, 47-45. UCSB got a layup at 4:34 but would not score again, with the Triton defense allowing just four shot attempts in the back half of the quarter. On the other end, Condron and Smith recorded back-to-back buckets to tie the game, 49-all. 
 
With 25.3 seconds on the clock, Rose dribbled down the shot clock before sinking a driving layup and drawing a foul with 6.5 seconds remaining. Rose made her free throw to secure the three-point play and UC San Diego's defense held on for the 52-49 victory.
 

MAKAYLA ROSE WITH ICE IN HER VEINS! ??

?? https://t.co/NxTomKgPRe#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/lf20R8VVS5

— UC San Diego WBB (@UCSDwbb) January 30, 2026

QUOTABLE
"Very excited about a gutsy win by our team," said head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "I thought that we made plays down the stretch and had people step up and hit big shots—Makayla Rose, obviously, with the game winner. Sabrina [Ma] stayed within herself and Erin [Condron] demanded a double down there in the paint. But really I thought that, Makayla and Dymo [Maxie] came out and set the tone for us. 
 
It was a back and forth game. Santa Barbara came out and had a good game plan—limiting their turnovers and kept us out of transition a little bit. But good teams find a way to win, and it was a very resilient effort by our team to find a way to win."

TRITON TIDBITS

• With the victory, the Tritons moved into sole possession of first place in the Big West at 9-1, halfway through the conference slate.
• The back-and-forth game had five ties and seven lead changes with UC San Diego holding the lead for 17:22 and UCSB in front for 15:30.
• UC San Diego had the advantage in points in the paint (28-18), assists (14-10) and turnovers forced (11-10).
• The Tritons are now 5-8 in the all-time series (5-4 in D-I) against UC Santa Barbara.
• UC San Diego starters were Erin Condron, Sabrina Ma, Dymonique Maxie, Makayla Rose and Rosa Smith.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return to LionTree Arena on Saturday to host CSUN for their Celebrating Black Excellence game at 4 p.m. 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 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.