LAS VEGAS–UC San Diego women's basketball defeated Stetson, 53-48, on Saturday afternoon in the Cox Pavilion on the second day of the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament. The Tritons (2-3) topped the Hatters (3-3) in the first ever meeting between the teams to advance to the fifth-place game on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. PT against East Tennessee State (ETSU).
 
Sydney Brown led the offense for the second game in a row with 14 points, additionally leading the team in assists with three and tied Emily Cangelosi for the most boards with seven. Parker Montgomery scored in double-figures with 12 points, adding five rebounds. Cangelosi, Grace Talbot and Katie Springs each tallied two steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons jumped out to a 9-0 lead behind back-to-back three-pointers by Izzy Forsyth. The Hatters when on an 8-0 run to close out the period to make it 13-11, Tritons at the first quarter break.
 
The teams traded points to open the second period before Stetson put up back-to-back layups to take the lead 21-20 with 5:18 to play. The Tritons pulled within one point in the final two minutes of the quarter, but the Hatters took a 29-25 lead into the half.
 
Stetson extended its lead to as many as six in the third quarter, but UC San Diego would not go quietly. The Tritons closed out the period with a 7-0 run, including a layup by Montgomery at the buzzer to retake the lead 39-38 heading into the final quarter break.
 
The Tritons extended their scoring streak from the third quarter to 14-0, to build an eight-point lead, 46-38, with 6:13 to play. The Hatters answered with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 48-all with 1:43 remaining. Brown knocked down a timely three-pointer with 52 seconds to put UC San Diego in front and the Tritons knocked down a couple of important free-throws to secure the victory, 53-48.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sydney Brown and Parker Montgomery finished with double-figure points.
• UC San Diego held the advantage in rebounds (38-32), bench points (28-8), points in the paint (22-16) and fast break points (12-4). The Tritons shot 35.6 percent from the field compared to 28.8 for the Hatters.
• Stetson held the advantage in points off of turnovers (24-16), second chance points (10-7), forcing 23 turnovers while turning the ball over 19 times.
• With the win, UC San Diego improved to 1-0 in the all-time series with Stetson.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will face East Tennessee State (ETSU) on Sunday for fifth place in the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament. The game will tip off at 11:15 a.m. in Cox Pavilion.
 
Teams participating in the three-day event include host UNLV, UAlbany, East Tennessee State (ETSU), George Washington, Louisiana Tech, Stetson and UC San Diego.
 
There is no video stream provided but live statistics will be available for all games 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 Conference 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 83 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.