UCSD women capture share of conference title; USD men's coach Lavin's tenure ends

UCSD women's basketball team ties for Big West regular season championship, while USD men's team and coach Steve Lavin's season comes to a close

Published on Mar. 8, 2026

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The UC San Diego women's basketball team shared the Big West Conference regular season title after defeating UC Santa Barbara 72-65 on Saturday. Meanwhile, the University of San Diego men's basketball team and head coach Steve Lavin's tenure came to an end with a 58-56 loss to Seattle University in the West Coast Conference Tournament.

Why it matters

The UCSD women's team's conference title share is a significant accomplishment, as they look to defend their Big West Tournament championship. For USD, Lavin's departure marks the end of an era as the Toreros men's program aims to rebuild and find a new direction.

The details

The UCSD women's team trailed UC Santa Barbara 60-59 with 4:45 to play, but closed the game on a 13-5 run to secure the win and a share of the Big West title with UC Irvine. Makayla Rose led UCSD with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. For the USD men, they led for much of the second half against Seattle before going cold from the floor, allowing Seattle to rally late and eliminate the Toreros from the WCC Tournament. USD head coach Steve Lavin, who finished 47-83 in four seasons, said it was an "honor to coach this team" despite the tough season.

  • The UCSD women's team won the game on Saturday, March 8, 2026.
  • The USD men's team was eliminated from the WCC Tournament on Friday, March 7, 2026.

The players

Makayla Rose

A player for the UC San Diego women's basketball team who scored 25 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals in the team's conference title-clinching win.

Steve Lavin

The head coach of the University of San Diego men's basketball team, whose tenure came to an end after the team's loss in the WCC Tournament.

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What they’re saying

“We really had some good looks today. We didn't take any bad shots. Everything was very clean. We had really good communication all game. We just wanted it really bad.”

— Justin Downer, Head Coach, Point Loma Nazarene University

“I thought we played our two best defensive games of the season back-to-back in the tournament. It was an honor to coach this team. We had 14 new players from four or five continents. This might sound counterintuitive, but being at USD was the four most enjoyable seasons of my career.”

— Steve Lavin, Former Head Coach, University of San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)

What’s next

The UCSD women's team will look to defend their Big West Tournament championship next week, while the USD men's program will begin the search for a new head coach to lead the team moving forward.

The takeaway

The UCSD women's basketball team's conference title share is a testament to their hard work and resilience, while the end of Steve Lavin's tenure at USD marks a new chapter for the Toreros men's program as they aim to rebuild and find success in the future.