ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The fourth-seeded Hawai`i women's water polo finished in fourth place today losing to No. 2 USC, 11-6, in the third-place game at the 2005 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship at the University of Michigan's Canham Natatorium.

"USC has more depth than us, and mentally we might not have been as sharp after yesterday's loss to UCLA," head coach Michel Roy said. "I'm very proud of my ladies."

USC's Brittany Hayes got the scoring under way with a power play goal at 2:45 in the first quarter. UH's Anna Sieprath quickly countered on the ensuing possession. Trojan Erin Wilson whipped in a shot from the 8-meter mark on top to reclaim the lead, 2-1.

USC's Lauren Wenger scored 32 seconds into the second quarter, but UH's Sieprath closed the gap to one with her second goal of the half as she slid in a shot from the right side on a power play. However, the Trojans came down on their next possession and Erika Figge punched it through the upper left corner. USC added two more scores by Eszter Gyori and Wenger to give USC a 6-2 advantage heading into halftime.

USC's Gyori scored on a penalty shot and Moriah Van Norman added another goal. UH's Amy Logan sandwiched a goal in between as USC stretched its largest lead, 8-3. Sieprath got the hat trick at the 4:12 mark on a power play to close to within four. Iefke Van Belkum netted her first goal on a power play with 1:01 left in the third as UH closed to within 8-5 heading to the fourth.

UH's Logan powered a shot through at the 5:02 mark to close the gap to two. But USC would get some breathing room as Van Norman hit a spin-around on a power play then added two more goals by Anna Pardo and Jana Wenger to close out the game, 11-6.

"It was a tense and tough game," senior driver Darcy Scott-Hosaka said. "We were tired but it was easy to pump ourselves up physically for our last game."

Hawai`i finishes fourth in the country with a most memorable season at 21-11 while USC closes out its season at 25-5.

"I'm very proud of where we are as a program," Roy said. "This is only the beginning."

Scoring by Quarters

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4		Final

Hawai`i	1	1	3	1	-	6

USC	2	4	2	3	-	11



Goals by USC:  Brittany Hayes, Erin Wilson, Lauren Wenger (2), Erika Figge, Eszter Gyori, Moriah Van Norman (2), Anna Pardo, Jana Wenger.

USC Goalie Saves:  Sarah Mix (11).

Goals by UH:  Anna Sieprath (3), Amy Logan (2), Iefke Van Belkum.

UH Goalie Saves:  Meike De Nooy (3).

Power Play Opportunities:  USC 5-10: Hawai`i:  3-7.