HONOLULU - The Hawai`i women's water polo team suffered a 5-4 loss to defending national champion UCLA in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match, Tuesday night, at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. The Rainbow Wahine dropped to 9-9 overall and 3-5 in conference play.

The Bruins came out strong in the first quarter, taking a 3-0 lead with goals from Katherine Belden, Molly Cahill, and Kristina Kunkel. Shannon Carroll put UH on the board with a ricochet goal off UCLA goalie Emily Feher. Another goal by Kunkel kept UCLA's lead at three. With the first half clock winding down, a backhand goal by UH's Beth Novick on a pass by Carroll closed the Bruin lead to two at the half.

After the break, the teams put on a defensive show as each were unable to score through the first six minutes of play. Rainbow Wahine Audrey Harrer broke the dry spell with a goal on a power play from the 4-meter mark to cut the UCLA lead to 4-3.

In the final quarter UCLA's Belden scored her second goal of the night at the 3:41 mark to put the Bruins ahead by two. A goal by Novick on a wide-open shot kept Hawai`i's hopes alive. But the UCLA defense proved to be too much for the Rainbow Wahine as the Bruins thwarted UH's attack in the final minutes.

Novick increased her team lead to 47 goals on the season. Senior Amber Lumb recorded nine saves for Hawai`i, who fell to 0-20 all-time against the Bruins.

The Rainbow Wahine host San Jose State, Wednesday, in their final home match of a season. Game time is 4:30 p.m. at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. Seniors Lumb, Leanna Hahn, Rilea Stober, and Traci Trochinski will be making their final home appearance.


UCLA vs. Hawai`i
Team 1-2-3-4=Final
UCLA 3-1-0-1=5
Hawai`i 0-2-1-1=4

UCLA Scoring: Katherine Belden-2, Kristina Kunkel-2, Molly Cahill
Hawai`i Scoring: Beth Novick-2, Shannon Carroll, Audrey Harrer
Goalie Saves: Emily Feher (UCLA)-8, Amber Lumb (Hawai`i)-9



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