LA JOLLA, Calif.–UC San Diego San Diego women's basketball held a one-point lead with less than five minutes to play, but ultimately fell to UC Irvine, 60-52, on Thursday evening in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (12-15, 9-8 Big West) dropped to 1-11 in the all-time series with the Anteaters (21-5, 13-2 Big West) and 0-2 in the season series.
 
Izzy Forsyth led the team with 14 points and Sydney Brown added 12 points, finishing one-rebound shy of a double-double. Brown's nine boards were a team-high, while Emily Cangelosi and Parker Montgomery added four. Montgomery led the team with five assists and Brown finished with four. Brown and Madison Baxter collected two steals each and Bridget Mullings tallied two blocked shots.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Tritons took an early 6-2 lead, the Anteaters used a seven-point scoring run to pull in front 9-6. A timely three from Baxter tied the game at 11-all and the Tritons retook the lead on back-to-back threes from Brown and Baxter, 17-13, with 2:27 to play in the opening quarter. UC San Diego matched the Anteaters shot-for-shot down the stretch and took a 21-18 lead into the first quarter break.
 
The Tritons offense sputtered in the second period, missing their first seven shots and allowing UCI to score 11 unanswered points. With the Anteaters leading, 29-21, Grace Talbot finally ended the UC San Diego scoring drought with a three-point basket with 1:41 to play in the half. Forsyth knocked down another three in the final minute to cut the deficit to two, 27-29, heading into the halftime break.
 
UC Irvine extended its lead to as many as 11 midway through the third quarter, 41-30. The Tritons responded with three consecutive three-pointers from Brown, Montgomery and Cangelosi to make it 41-39 with 2:30 on the clock. UCI scored four unanswered, but two made free throws by Brown in the final 30 seconds made it 41-45 heading into the final quarter.
 
The Tritons continued to chip away at the lead early in the fourth period. With five minutes remaining, Forsyth scored six consecutive points to give the Tritons their first lead since early in the second quarter, 52-51. However, UC Irvine closed out the final three minutes with a nine-point scoring run to spoil the comeback.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Izzy Forsyth tallied her 13th double-digit scoring effort of the seasons and Sydney Brown recorded her 19th.
• The Tritons matched their season high with 12 made three pointers.
• UC San Diego shot 34.7% from the field with 12-for-33 (36.4%) from three, compared to 37.7% for UC Irvine and three three-point baskets (13.6%).
• The Anteaters held the advantage in rebounds (35-32), points off of turnovers (24-3), points in the paint (32-10) and second chance points (17-11).
• UC San Diego starters were Sydney Brown, Emily Cangelosi, Izzy Forsyth, Julia Macabuhay and Parker Montgomery. 

UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap up a busy stretch of four games in eight days, traveling to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 4 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 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.