LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's basketball fell to UC Davis, 62-49, on Saturday afternoon in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (8-12, 4-5 Big West) cooled off in the second half to drop to 2-5 in the D-I series with the Aggies (10-9, 6-3 Big West).
 
Parker Montgomery led the Tritons with 13 points, while Sumayah Sugapong added 12 and Izzy Forsyth chipped in 10. Gracie Gallegos, Parker Montgomery and Katie Springs all led the team with four rebounds apiece. Sugapong collected a team-high three assists and two steals. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Davis got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes. The Tritons responded with a seven-point run of their own to pull within one, 10-9. The Aggies went 3-for-4 from three-point range down the stretch and took a 19-14 lead into the first quarter break. 
 
Montgomery led all Triton scorers in the opening quarter, tallying 10 points early in the contest.
 
The Tritons opened the second period with a nine-point scoring run behind six-straight points for Sugapong and three-pointer by Forsyth to take their first lead of the contest, 23-19. UC San Diego maintained a five-point advantage with under four minutes to play before the Aggies closed the quarter on a 6-0 scoring run to take a 34-33 lead into halftime.
 
Sugapong came alive in the second period, scoring all 11 of her first-half points in the quarter. UC San Diego shot 78 percent (7-of-8) from three-point range in the first half, while UC Davis went 7-of-18 (38%) from beyond the arc.
 
UC San Diego struggled to find a rhythm offensively in the second half, going 0-for-9 from the floor through the first six minutes. The Tritons ended the drought with a three from Forsyth and a layup by Eri Blithikioti to make it 38-42 with 2:22 on the clock. The teams traded four-point swings down the stretch—all by free throws—and UC Davis took a 46-42 lead into the final quarter break.
 
The Aggies opened the fourth period with a 6-0 scoring run before UC San Diego was able to get on the board with a layup by Forsyth to make it 54-44 with 7:08 to play. The Tritons continued to battle down the stretch but were unable to cut the deficit to single digits.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sumayah Sugapong recorded double-figure points for the 16th time this season.
• UC Davis held the advantage in points off turnovers (11-8), second chance points (15-6) and points in the paint (24-14). The rebounds were even 34-34.
• The Tritons shot 31 percent (16-of-51) from the field and 8-of-22 from three-point range, compared to 43 percent (23-of-54) and 9-of-26 for the Aggies.  
• UC San Diego starters were Gracie Gallegos, Parker Montgomery, Denali Pinto, Sumayah Sugapong and Damilola Sule.
• The Tritons are now 5-17 in the all-time series with UC Davis and 2-5 in the Division I era.

 UP NEXT 
UC San Diego will wrap up the first half of Big West play, traveling to face CSUN on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. The Tritons will then return home to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports before hosting Long Beach State on Saturday, Feb. 3 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.