Feiman scores 17 as the Tritons pull away from Portland State, 78-64 in the home opener
UC San Diego trailed after the first quarter of its home opener on Thursday morning at LionTree Arena, then forced 21 turnovers and outscored Portland State 43-23 across the middle two quarters to win 78-64 before a record crowd of 4,000 school students.
LA JOLLA: The home opener started at 11 a.m. in front of a full house of schoolchildren, and for ten minutes the visitors owned it. UC San Diego then changed the game with its defense and beat Portland State 78-64 on Thursday morning at LionTree Arena. The Tritons are 2-1, the Vikings 0-4, and the crowd of 4,000 local elementary and middle school students was a record for Triton women's basketball.
Portland State led 24-16 after the first quarter, with a 15-4 rebounding edge and seven made free throws, after UC San Diego had led 12-9 on a Rosa Smith layup with 5:08 left in the quarter. The Tritons played without their leading scorer and 6-4 post Erin Condron. The second quarter turned on turnovers: UC San Diego forced eight of them, scored 10 points off them and outscored the Vikings 22-11. Down 35-30, the Tritons closed the half with a Michaela Fairwell layup and free throw, a Lev Feiman three pointer for a 36-35 lead and a Dymonique Maxie jumper, and took a 38-35 lead into halftime.
A 14-0 start to the third quarter ends the argument
The run that decided the game ran across the break: the 8-0 close to the first half became a 14-0 start to the third quarter, 22 unanswered points in all, and a 52-35 lead. UC San Diego recorded six steals in the third quarter, four of them by Sadie Sin, and outscored Portland State 21-12 in the quarter to lead 59-47. In the fourth the Tritons scored 19 points on 8 of 16 shooting and committed just two turnovers, Feiman hitting a three pointer off a Maxie assist for 75-59 with 2:17 left and Maxie adding a three pointer off a Smith assist at 1:21.
The totals describe a game won on ball pressure. UC San Diego finished with 18 steals and a 31-7 advantage in points off turnovers while committing just seven turnovers; Portland State was forced into 21. Feiman led the Tritons with 17 points on 7 of 13 shooting and four rebounds, Sin added 15 points with six steals and four assists, and Maxie scored 14 with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. The Tritons shot 47.8 percent (32 of 67) for the game.
Portland State owned the boards in defeat, outrebounding the Tritons 53-28 with a 27-11 edge on the offensive glass and a 29-14 lead in second chance points. Kirstine Munk scored 15 points with 13 rebounds, Teagan Colvin added 13 points with 15 rebounds, and Kyleigh Brown scored 11, but the Vikings shot 29.0 percent (18 of 62) and made just 10 of 45 shots over the final three quarters. Before tipoff the Tritons unveiled their 2025-26 Big West championship banner and eight members of that team received their championship rings. UC San Diego continues its homestand on Sunday, hosting San Francisco at 1 p.m. at LionTree Arena.
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