IRVINE, Calif. - No. 13 UC San Diego women's water polo split a pair of games Saturday on the second day of UC Irvine's Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
The Tritons started off the day by topping Biola, 10-7. In the afternoon, they were defeated, 9-5, by seventh-ranked Arizona State.
UC San Diego wraps up action against UC Santa Barbara, also ranked 13th, Sunday at 11:30 a.m. in the 11th-place game.
The 16-team tournament field features 13 nationally-ranked squads, including nine of the top 10-ranked teams in the country including #1 UCLA, #2 Hawai'i, #3 Fresno State, #4 Stanford, #5 USC, #6 California, #7 Arizona State, #8 Michigan, #10 UC Irvine, #12 Long Beach State, #13 UC San Diego, #13 Indiana, #13 UC Santa Barbara, Biola, Cal State Fullerton, and Pomona-Pitzer.
HOW IT HAPPENED v BIOLA
Biola scored the game's first goal just 36 seconds into the opening quarter. That would b the lone occasion that the Eagles owned a lead.
Lucia Doak and
Courtney Okumura netted back-to-back goals and UC San Diego was able to stay in front the rest of the way.
The Tritons won two quarters, outscoring the Eagles 4-1 in the first and 3-2 in the second. Both teams scored two goals in the third and Biola held a 2-1 advantage in the fourth.
A power play goal by
Kendall Thomas just before the first half ended put UC San Diego by four, 7-3.
Lucia Doak scored at 4:26 of the third to give the Tritons a five-point lead, 9-4. Five points was the Tritons' largest lead of the game, which they had twice. The second came at the beginning of the final quarter when Thomas made the score 10-5.
Biola was able to score the final two goals of the game, one coming on a power play.
Doak and Thomas were the lone players to have more than one goal in the game with two apiece. Doak also added an assist and three steals to her totals.
Katie Ward made six saves en route the victory and equaled her career-high with three steals.
Biola's seven goals came from seven different players. Damaris Kientz made 13 saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED v ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State scored a majority of its goals in the opening 16 minutes and led 7-1 at the half. UC San Diego turned the tide in the second half, scoring four times while the Sun Devils netted just two.
Arizona led by as many as six on two occasions (7-1 and 8-2).
UC San Diego totaled 34 shots to the opponent's 25.
Okumura scored twice in the game. Three other Tritons - Doak,
Sydney Munatones, and
Abigail Schechter - each scored once.
Ward made six saves, including a rejection of a five-meter penalty shot.
For ASU, Millie Quinn provided the bulk of the offense, scoring five times and assisting on two other goals. Keeper Itzahiana Baca finished with 13 saves.
TRITON TIDBITS
• Freshman
Abigail Schechter has scored one goal in each of the three tourney games.
• Goalie
Katie Ward's assist vs. Biola was her second of the season and third of her career.
• UC San Diego lost its opener at the tourney Friday, 13-4 to No. 6 California.
• No. 2 Hawai'i and UCLA, the top-ranked team in the country, will play for the tournament title Sunday.
• It was the second meeting between UC San Diego and Arizona State. On Feb. 2 during the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, the Sun Devils edged the Tritons, 12-11.
• UC San Diego and Biola will meet again during the regular season on March 1 at the Claremont Convergence tournament.
UP NEXT
Sunday, UC San Diego takes on No. 13 UC Santa Barbara at 11:30 a.m. in the 11th-place game.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
