UCSD 79, Azusa Pacific 48

The Tritons never trailed in their first contest at RIMAC Arena since the NCAA West Regional Finals last year. The Tritons blew out the winless Cougars, who compete at the NCAA Division II level for the first time this season. The Friday game marked only the second Triton win of five games this season.

UCSD came out strong in the first half and never looked back, leading 43-21 at halftime despite neither team scoring for the final 2:36 of the half. In the second half, the Tritons extended their lead, ending with their largest lead of 31 points.

The Tritons were paced by senior guards Emily Osga and Daisy Feder, who scored 21 points and 19 points respectively. Thirteen Tritons recorded minutes, including freshman forward Leeann Alferness who grabbed two boards for her first mark on the books this season, as the team shot an overall 50.9 percent from the field.

Tampa 74, UCSD 66, 2OT

A sluggish first half ended with a score of 22-13 to cap an awful period for both teams from the field. UCSD shot a measly 30 percent in the first to the Spartans’ 22.7 percent on 5-for-22 shooting from the field.

The Spartans sprinted ahead in the second half, shooting 56.5 percent and scoring 41 points. The Tritons kept a sizable lead over Tampa until a 7-0 run by the Spartans cut the lead to two points with 8:18 to play. After seven minutes of trading baskets, the Spartans’ Illyssa Vivo hit one of two free throws to go up by two with 20 seconds in the second half. Daisy Feder hit two free throws with eight seconds left to tie the game at 54 apiece, but junior forward Erin Dautremont missed a layup at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

In the first overtime period, the squads traded baskets, although the Tritons never trailed. A layup by Dautremont put the Tritons up by two, but the Spartans’ Shamika Williams — named to the all-tournament team with Feder and Dautremont — hit a layup to tie the game at 61. Feder missed a jumper to send the game to double-overtime. The Spartans took over in the fourth period, outscoring the Tritons 13-5 to comfortably put the game away.

The extended game exploited UCSD’s foul situation as both sophomore guard Miranda Seto and Feder fouled out in the second overtime. With senior forward Erin Grady also with four fouls, the Tritons looked to the bench for much of the final period. Feder led both teams with 21 points and Dautremont finished with a double-double, ending with 20 points to match her 10 rebounds.