UC San Diego

SEATTLE—UC San Diego women's basketball dropped a 79-63 decision at No. 15 Washington on Monday afternoon in Alaska Airlines Arena. The Tritons (0-1) matched the Huskies (1-0) for nearly three quarters before UW took over in the final period of the season opener.
 
The Tritons were led by newcomer Coryn Watts with 15 points on 5-of-8 from three-point range. Erin Condron finished with 14 points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block. Freshman Sadie Sin collected 12 points in her collegiate debut, adding five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Dymonique Maxie tallied seven points, five rebounds and a team-best three assists. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons were slow to start the opening quarter, going 0-for-4 to open the contest. After trailing 6-0, UC San Diego hit back-to-back threes from Watts and Maxie to quickly pull the Tritons even with 5:55 on the clock. The teams traded baskets before another pair of threes, this time from Watts and Cummins gave UC San Diego its first lead, 16-13. Washington answered with a six-point swing of its own to retake the lead, 19-16, before a late jumper by Sin made it a one-point game at the first quarter break, 19-18.
 
An early three in the second period gave UW a two-score lead once again, 22-18, but the Tritons countered with back-to-back threes from Sin to retake the lead, 24-22. Condron knocked down a three and Maxie followed with a layup to build UC San Diego's largest lead of the contest, 31-26. The Huskies closed with a five-point swing to tie the game at 31-31 at halftime.
 
The teams kept things close to begin the second half, with the Huskies holding the advantage, 37-36, at the midpoint. Washington went on a 5-0 run, but a Rosa Smith three brought it back to a one-score contest. The Tritons went cold from the field down the stretch, with UW stretching an eight-point scoring run to lead, 49-39. Condron ended the drought with a three in the final 30 seconds, but UC San Diego trailed 49-42 going into the final quarter break.
 
The teams traded baskets for the front half of the fourth period, with Washington leading 56-49 after a Feiman jumper with 7:58 to play. The Huskies then stacked seven points to build a commanding lead, 63-49. The Tritons continued to battle down the stretch, getting good minutes from its freshmen core, but Washington secured the victory, 79-63.
 
QUOTABLE
"I was very proud of the way our team competed," said head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "I feel like we were very aggressive offensively and made plays defensively. For our first outing, against a very good team, I thought we competed for 40 minutes. It was a great game for our freshmen to feel the pace and physicality of college basketball. I thought Erin [Condron] and Dymo [Maxie], along with Coryn [Watts] came in and gave us great minutes. I'm really proud of the way we battled. It's a long season and we'll have to continue to get better, but I thought it was a really good start for our team."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Alexandra Cummins, Jite Gbemuotor, Coryn Watts made their Triton debut in the contest and Emma Cook, Noelle Mulvanny, Megan Roberts and Sadie Sin all made their collegiate debuts. 
• The Tritons outshot the Huskies, 13 to 8 from three-point range. 
• UC San Diego had the advantage in turnovers forced (21-14), points off turnovers (15-10), bench points (30-7) steals (10-7) and blocks (6-5). 
• Washington had the advantage in points in the paint (46-16), fast break points (15-3), second chance points (10-5) and rebounds (54-27). 
• UC San Diego is now 0-2 in the all-time series with Washington. 

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will celebrate the opening week of the season in San Diego at the inaugural National University Bill Walton Classic. UC San Diego will face the University of San Diego at Pechanga Arena on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. The game is slated as a double-header with the San Diego State men's program taking on Colorado.
 
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.