RIVERSIDE, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball defeated UC Riverside, 79-68, on Saturday afternoon in SRC Arena to remain atop the Big West standings. The Tritons (18-7, 13-2 Big West) shot 64 percent from three and 50 percent from the field to take the second meeting of the season with the Highlanders (8-17, 6-9 Big West).
Makayla Rose scored a game-high 24 points against her former team, tallying four rebounds, two steals and one assist. She finished 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
Lev Feiman put together a standout contribution off the bench, scoring a career-best 20 points, with four steals, three assists and one block. She shot 78 percent (7-for-9) from the field, 2-for-2 from three and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Erin Condron also scored in double figures for the 22nd time this season with 10 points and six rebounds, while
Sabrina Ma tied her for the team led with six boards and eight points.
Dymonique Maxie finished with a team-high seven assists and chipped in seven points as well.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams struggled from the floor to begin the contest, with the Tritons scoring their first field goal at 3:38 to go in the first quarter. UC San Diego took care of their free throws early on and held the Highlanders to just two points in the first five minutes. Back-to-back baskets from Rose and Condron built a 9-3 advantage, but the Tritons were unable to get another field goal in the final 3:17, taking a 10-6 advantage into the first quarter break.
UC San Diego carried over the slow start in the second quarter, battling to a 14-10 lead in the opening minutes. A three by Rose put the Tritons up 17-10, but UCR responded with a three of its own. The teams continued to trade baskets before a three by Feiman gave the Tritons a 24-17 lead with under four minutes in the half. The Highlanders put together a four-point swing down the stretch to cut the lead to one possession, 24-21, but Feiman and Rose took control down the stretch. Feiman scored five points in the final two minutes, including a three at the buzzer to give UC San Diego a 31-23 halftime advantage.
Riverside opened the second half with a 7-3 scoring run, including five made free throws, to cut the lead back to four, 34-30. Rose knocked down another three-pointer, assisted by Feiman, midway through the quarter to put the Tritons up 38-30. Feiman and Rose combined once again for a six-point swing to give the visitors a 48-37 lead with under four minutes on the clock. UC San Diego rallied once again in the final minute of the third period, scoring six unanswered to lead, 56-43, at the final quarter break.
Feiman and Condron combined for nine points in the opening minutes of the fourth period to give UC San Diego a 65-48 advantage. Riverside rallied to score 12 points unanswered to cut the lead to five, midway through the period, 65-60. The Tritons responded once again with a pair of timely threes from Ma and Rose to highlight a 12-3 run by the visitors. UC San Diego also went 6-for-8 at the free throw line during that stretch to put the game out of reach. The Highlanders got five quick points at the free throw line in the final minute, but the Tritons held on for the 79-68 victory.
QUOTABLE
"I'm very proud of our team's effort tonight and our resiliency," said head coach
Heidi VanDerveer. "Riverside is on a roll. I think they're extremely talented—obviously our league is very competitive—and each team presents different problems. I thought our energy and our effort was very sustainable. They made runs, but we answered each time. I was really proud of our team.
It was fun to have
Makayla Rose come back to Riverside and play so well, having played here. And it was not a breakout game, but a return of the
Lev Feiman of November, so it was fun to see her have a good run. She gave us great energy, with four steals as well.
I know Erin [Condron] and Dymo [Maxie] have been under the weather, and we've had Rosa [Smith] playing a lot of minutes. We will be happy to get a good week to get people healthy, get them a little rest as we head into home stretch here. Again, very proud of our team's effort."
TRITON TIDBITS
- With the win, the Tritons have matched their highest win total in Big West play (13; 2024-25) since joining the conference in 2020-21.
- Freshman Lev Feiman recorded career highs in points (20), field goals made (7), threes made (2), assists (3), blocks (1) and steals (4) in the contest.
- Makayla Rose tallied her fourth 20-point performance of the season.
- The Triton defense held the Big West's leading scorer Hannah Wickstrom 6.5 points under her season average and UC San Diego accounts for two of her three games against conference opponents with less than 20 points this season.
- UC San Diego had the advantage in points off turnovers (21-8), bench points (21-12), points in the paint (32-24), fast break points (25-12) and forced turnovers (23-13).
- The Tritons are now 11-16 in the all-time series and 9-3 in Division I with UC Riverside.
- UC San Diego starters were Erin Condron, Sabrina Ma, Dymonique Maxie, Makayla Rose and Rosa Smith.
UP NEXT
In their lone game of the week, the Tritons will host UC Irvine on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. for their Breast Cancer Awareness Game. The game 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.
