WOMEN’S BASKETBALL — The Tritons were upstaged by the playoff-bound Cal State Monterey Bay Otters on Feb. 20. The Otters handed UCSD its mere third loss of the season — but the second in its past four games — by a 68-57 decision.

Outscoring UCSD 16-4 in the last 3:15 of the game, the Otters used a late surge to down the Tritons.

Junior forward Tiffany Hunter led the team with 18 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore guard Chelsea Carlisle added 17 points and four rebounds.

Head coach Charity Elliott said she sees no particular trend in the Tritons’ recent troubles.

“We’ve just had a couple of tough games, and we just haven’t met the intensity and focus of our opponent,” head coach Charity Elliott said.

The Otters’ win came a day after they beat Cal State East Bay to clinch their first-ever berth to the CCAA tournament. The Otters had never before beaten the Tritons. Head coach Renee Jimenez called the win over UCSD “without a doubt the biggest win in program history.”

UCSD trailed by a point at halftime, but CSUMB’s Lindsay Trout’s fourth three-pointer of the game gave the Otters a seven-point advantage at five minutes into the second half.

Though the Tritons were able to rally — and held a narrow 53-52 lead with 3:39 remaining — the Otters hit five of six free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Cal State Monterey Bay was also able to take a 43-32 advantage in rebounding, including 14 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second-chance points. The Otters outscored the Tritons 24-16 in the paint, with a 13-1 advantage in the second half.

The Tritons went cold from the field in the second half, converting only eight of their 23 shots. They fell to 22-3 overall and 17-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. All of UCSD’s losses have come on the road.

The loss came one night after besting San Francisco State in a hard-fought 58-50 victory on Friday. Carlisle led all scorers with 14 points, while senior guard Annette Ilg added 12 points and Hunter followed up with 11 points and nine boards. The Tritons swept the season series with San Francisco for the win.

UCSD will host their final two games of the regular season against Sonoma State and Humboldt State at RIMAC Arena. Sonoma hits the court first, on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Readers can contact Liam Rose at [email protected].