Disappointed teammates in white uniforms move away from team's bench after losing game.
UCSD after their First Four loss. (Photo courtesy of ESPNU broadcast)

UC San Diego pushed Southern late in the Tritons’ 68-56 First Four loss Wednesday, but ultimately couldn’t overcome a big first-half deficit.

Playing at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA, UCSD was trying to win its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but Southern (21-14), winless in six tournament appearances, wanted to break that streak.

Whichever team prevailed faced a huge mountain to climb – UCLA, the overall No. 1 seed in the women’s bracket. Now Southern, out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has that assignment on Friday.

Sumayah Sugapong led UCSD (20-16) with 19 points, with three 3-pointers along with six assists and five rebounds. Parker Montgomery hit four 3-pointers and added 15 points.

Together, with 25 combined second-half points, Sugapong and Montgomery provided the impetus that sliced the Tritons’ deficit in the fourth period.

A 3-pointer by Sabrina Ma and a bucket from Junae Mahan got them to within six, at 62-56, with less than a minute to go. But Southern’s free throws made the difference down the stretch while Montgomery went 0-for-3 from long distance.

Soniyah Reed came off the bench for Southern to score 19 of her 24 points in the first half, including eight straight in the second quarter. The Jaguars led by as many as 21 points before the break while shooting nearly 59%.

“We struggled in the first half. We weren’t in sync. And they made us pay for every mistake that we made,” Head Coach Heidi VanDerveer said.

UCSD, which reached the tournament in its first year of eligibility after making the move to NCAA Division I play, shot 34% for the game. Though Southern came back to earth a bit, the team still managed to shoot 49%.

Though the disappointment was still fresh as VanDerveer, Montgomery and Kayanna Spriggs met the media following the loss, each expressed their gratitude for UCSD’s successful season.

“Going to March Madness, like, who would have ever thought UC San Diego would have been here, and winning the Big West the first year out? Yeah, I’m very happy,” said Montgomery, who concluded her college career Wednesday.

Spriggs, a local product who transferred to UCSD from Cal State Northridge, credited her teammates for the tournament journey, though brief, with her new team.

“We played off of each other, together. They made it really easy for it to be a great year,” the senior said. “I would do it over and over again if I had the chance.”

NOTES: And then there were two – of the four San Diego teams that made the NCAA Tournament, the UC San Diego men’s squad and San Diego State women remain. SDSU’s men lost their First Four matchup Tuesday … The UCSD women’s basketball program made 18 total NCAA appearances before their move to Division I, including 13 at the Division II level and five in Division III. The Tritons’ best finish came in the 2006-07 season when they made it to the NCAA Division II semifinals … With the loss, VanDerveer’s NCAA Tournament record falls to 4-6.