HONOLULU, Hawai'i—UC San Diego women's basketball erased a 15-point deficit late but could not complete the comeback, falling to Hawai'i, 64-52, on Saturday evening in Stan Sheriff Center. The Tritons (7-11, 3-4 Big West) are now 3-2 in the all-time series with the Rainbow Wahine (9-7, 6-1 Big West). It was their first loss in Stan Sheriff Center.
Damilola Sule matched her career high to lead the Tritons with 15 points and seven rebounds and one steal, matched by
Sumayah Sugapong with 15 points as well.
Parker Montgomery led the team with three assists and added one assist as well.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got off to a slow start offensively, shooting 20 percent (2-for-10) in the opening quarter. Hawai'i took an early 14-5 lead through the first quarter of play.
The Rainbow Wahine extended an 11-0 run to begin the second period and build their largest lead of the half, 22-5. UC San Diego began to find a rhythm with back-to-back buckets by Montgomery and Pinto midway through the quarter, 22-9. Sule provided a spark off the bench, scoring six of the Tritons eight points in the final three minutes, but UC San Diego trailed 31-19 at halftime.
Hawai'i knocked down five three-pointers in the first half and outscored the Tritons 8-2 at the free throw line.
After an opening layup by UH, the Tritons put together a 9-0 scoring run to make it a two-possession game, 33-28. The 'Bows responded with an eight-point run of their own to build the lead back to double digits, 41-28, midway through the period. The Tritons rallied again late in the quarter with a 9-2 scoring run to make it 44-38 but a late three gave UH the 47-38 advantage heading into the final period.
Hawai'i built its lead back to 12 to open the final quarter before UC San Diego made its final push late. The Tritons put together a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to three points with under five minutes to play. However, the Rainbow Wahine responded once again, outscoring the Tritons, 11-2 down the stretch to stall the comeback.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Damilola Sule matched her career high with 15 points in the contest.
- She finished 6-of-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
- Sumayah Sugapong recorded double-figure points for the 14th time this season.
- The Tritons held the advantage in rebounds (34-29), points off turnovers (11-10), second chance points (10-7) and points in the paint (24-22), while UH had the edge in bench points (28-17) and fast break points (5-3).
- The Tritons shot 41 percent (18-of-44) from the field compared to 39 percent (20-of-51) for Hawai'i, but UH finished 8-of-27 from three-point range, compared to 2-of-13 for the Tritons.
- UC San Diego starters were Izzy Forsyth, Parker Montgomery, Denali Pinto, Katie Springs and Sumayah Sugapong.
- The Tritons are now 3-2 in the all-time series with Hawai'i.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will take on UC Riverside on the road on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. and return home to LionTree Arena to host UC Davis on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2 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.
