By Cole Brower
UC San Diego Advances Past Seattle Pacific
An offensive explosion from junior guard Kayla Sato leads UC San Diego past Seattle Pacific University 64-51.
UC San Diego opened the scoring in the first quarter after a flurry of missed shots and defensive stands by both teams. Seattle Pacific would answer back, but their defense could not contain the tandem of Kayla Sato and Dalayna Sampton. UC San Diego led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams settled things down offensively in the second quarter. Seattle Pacific was able to improve their shooting and slow down the Triton offense, however they could not stop Kayla Sato, who finished the half with 14 points. In the dying moments of the second half, senior guard Rachel Shim knocked down a half-court shot to cut the UC San Diego lead down to 10 points.
The momentum of buzzer beater continued into the third quarter for Seattle Pacific. Shim connected on two straight possessions shorten the deficit to only five points. The Tritons would come back with two straight scores of their own, again from Sampton and Sato.
“Our team knew that the energy really starts from our defense. So if we are jumping out on people, we’re playing together, and our defense is solid, then our offense is going to come,” said Sampton.
Seattle Pacific would not go away, however, as they cut the lead down to just three points late in the third quarter. UC San Diego, again, was able to withstand the Falcons’ offense and came back with a late push of their own. Sophomore Mikayla Williams knocked down a jumper and junior Marcella Hughes connected on a three-pointer and a two-pointer to end the quarter with a 33-41 lead.
Again, Seattle Pacific came out strong at the beginning of the quarter, scoring on their first two possessions and cutting the lead back down to four points. But, as was the tale of the afternoon, for every run Seattle Pacific was able to muster, UC San Diego was able to make a run of their own. Midway through the final period, the Triton lead was back up to 10 points, and would stay in that range for the remainder of the game.
“We knew San Diego would be a tough matchup. I thought we had a lot of good looks in the first half and we just weren’t able to have them fall,” said head coach Julie Heisey. “I think in these types of games that tightness comes and you try to relax and then you miss and you wonder if you are going to make them again. I was proud of our team, down by 10 and I thought we came out and really defended and hit some shots and I thought we were going to be able to break open. It was a hard game and I was proud of our team and how we stick together.”
Sato finished the game with 28 points and 10 rebounds for UC San Diego, followed by Sampton with eight points and 12 rebounds of her own. Taylor Tanita contributed 10 points, and Marcella Hughes finished the night with seven points and led the team with three assists.
For Seattle Pacific, Rachel Shim led the Falcons’ balanced offense with 14 points and four assists. Julia Haining finished the night with eight points and five rebounds, while Jordan McPhee ended with seven points, two rebounds, and an assist.
UC San Diego will play the winner of Hawai’i Pacific and Montana State Billings on Saturday at 5 p.m.
