LA JOLLA, Calif.–UC San Diego women's basketball earned its third-straight victory, defeating Cal Poly, 70-58, on Thursday evening in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (8-9, 5-2 Big West) improved to 4-2 in the all-time series with the Mustangs (5-10, 2-5 Big West).
 
Julia Macabuhay led the team with 18 points, while Sydney Brown and Izzy Forsyth added 10 apiece. Bridget Mullings collected a team-high seven rebounds, including four offensive boards, while Brown and Parker Montgomery added six rebounds each. Montgomery and Courtni Thompson collected three assists each and Montgomery and Emily Cangelosi led the way with two steals apiece.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons got off to a hot start in the opening quarter, putting together a 13-2 run in the first four minutes. Brown knocked down back-to-back threes to extend UC San Diego's largest lead of the period, 19-6. The Mustangs closed out the quarter with three made free-throws to make it 19-9 heading into the first quarter break.
 
UC San Diego struggled offensively in the second period, shooting just 1-for-9 from the field. The Mustangs put together runs of six points and eight points down the stretch to take the lead, 27-26, at halftime. 
 
The Tritons came out of the break with energy, going on a 6-0 run to quickly retake the lead. Cal Poly answered with a 5-0 run of its own to knot things up, 36-36. UC San Diego then found its rhythm again, outscoring the Mustangs 14-5 to extend the lead back to double-digits, 50-40, at the final quarter break.
 
Cal Poly opened up the final period with a 9-3 run to cut the lead to four, but the Tritons continued to battle. A timely three by Baxter and another from Macabuhay sparked a 7-0 run for UC San Diego and the Tritons cruised to the 70-58 victory—their third in a row.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Julia Macabuhay scored a season-best 18 points, while Sydney Brown turned in her 13th double-digit scoring effort of the year and Izzy Forsyth recorded her seventh of the season.
• The Tritons shot 42.9% from the field compared to 37.7% for Cal Poly.
• UC San Diego held the advantage in rebounds (33-29), points off turnovers (15-10), assists (13-6) and finished 9-for-25 from three-point range. 
• UC San Diego starters were Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Izzy Forsyth, Julia Macabuhay and Parker Montgomery. 

UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap up the weekend traveling to face Long Beach State for the second time this season on Saturday at 4 p.m. 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 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.