UC San Diego’s first NCAA Division I Tournament experience in women’s basketball is over.
Southern University led by as many as 21 points in the first half Wednesday night, then held on to defeat the Tritons 68-56 in Los Angeles. UC San Diego’s season ended at 20-16 with only the Big West champion’s third loss in the last 12 games.
Southern (21-14), the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, moves from the play-in win over UCSD to play top-ranked and No. 1 seed UCLA (30-4) Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.
“I thought Southern came out and set the tone defensively,” said UC San Diego head coach Heidi VanDerveer. “We struggled in the first half. We weren’t in sync and they made us pay for every mistake that we made.
“So, congratulations to Southern. With that said, I thought our team really showed its character in the second half with the way we competed.
“We’ve had a great run through the Big West in the regular season and the tournament. We would not be where we are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history and the first time we were eligible to compete without Parker (Montgomery) and Kayanna (Spriggs).
Montgomery is a fifth-year senior who came back to be part of the Tritons’ first season to be eligible for postseason play as a Division I team.
“Just having this opportunity is what I worked for,” said Montgomery. “I’m sad right now, but proud of what we have accomplished this season and this month.”
Sophomore guard Sumayah Sugapong, the Player of the Tournament in UCSD’s Big West triumph last week, led the Tritons with 19 points and five rebounds. Montgomery added 15 points in her final game as a Triton.
Senior Southern guard Soniyah Reed scored 19 of her game-high 24 points in the first half as Southern raced to a 40-20 lead. Aniya Gourdine finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tionna Lidge had 12 points and six rebounds.
The 6-foot Reed had one fewer point than UC San Diego in the first half as Southern went on runs of 11-0 (with a trio of 3-pointers) and 17-2 in the second quarter.
Reed came off the bench to score 19 points in 11 minutes in the first half. She was 8-of-9 from the floor, including going 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Aniya Gourdine had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in the half.
Southern went 17-for-29 from the field in the first half, hitting six of nine attempts from beyond the arc. The Tritons were only 8-for-28 and 2-for-10 from 3-point range while being out-rebounded 17-12 and committing 10 turnovers.
UCSD had immediate problems when Spriggs drew her second foul two minutes and 12 seconds into the game. Reed equaled UCSD’s 11 points in the first quarter while burying all three of her 3-point attempts.
Southern outscored UCSD 28-12 over the final 12 minutes of the first half.
Sugapong scored eight points and Montgomery five in the first four minutes of the second half as the Tritons opened with a 13-4 run to pull to within 11. UCSD out-scored Southern 20-9 in the third quarter to pull to within nine at 49-40. But the Tritons went scoreless for the first 3 ½ minutes of the fourth quarter.
“I will say again how proud I am of our team,” said VanDerveer. “We began the season very young and we grew. We have a very young core. We set a great legacy. Hopefully we can come back and have a better first quarter, first half (of the season).
“Parker came here during COVID. She didn’t have a senior season in high school or a freshman year here. But she quickly became a leader as we transitioned from Division II to Division I. No one knows more about what the players on this team have experienced over the past five years.”
Said Montgomery: “What I’ve seen is growth. It wasn’t always easy, but Coach Heidi and the other players in the program all focused on getting where we are now. And I think this is just the first step. I think the future is really exciting for UC San Diego basketball … the women and men.”
