RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The 23-day layoff between matches appeared to have no effect on the No. 5 University of Hawai'i water polo team (8-1), as they smothered No. 23 Cal Baptist on the road in a 20-3 victory, Wednesday at the Lancer Aquatics Center.
 
Nine players produced scores for the Rainbow Wahine, with four recording hat tricks, as Hawai'i shot 64.5 percent for the big win over the Lancers. Leading that offensive charge, first-semester freshman Elyse Lemay-Lavoie tied for the team's second-most goals in a game this season with five, but she wasn't the first Rainbow Wahine to get rolling.
 
It took just 29 seconds for junior Irene Gonzalez to put Hawai'i on the board Wednesday, adding to her own total just 40 seconds later. The Rainbow Wahine scored on their first three possessions and Gonzalez kicked off a string of UH scorers doubling-up, as sophomore Femke Aan and Lemay-Lavoie each scored back-to-back goals, sandwiching a single score by senior Chloe Barr.
 
The Rainbow Wahine provided a dominant performance in both facets during the opening half, shooting 76.5 percent in the first half and capitalizing on 3-of-4 power plays to carry a 13-1 advantage into the break. In the meantime, senior goalkeeper Ymane Hage blocked 4-of-6 CBU shots before making her exit at halftime.
 
The scoring slowed for Hawai'i in the second half, as the Rainbow Wahine worked out different combinations, allowing four additional players to reach the scoreboard. However, the second half is also where Lemay-Lavoie took over, netting three additional scores as UH soared to a 20-3 victory over another ranked opponent.
 
UH added seven goals in the second half, but the scoring never picked up for CBU, as UH's stout defensive effort held the Lancer's to just two second-half goals. Freshman Molly DiLalla recorded three saves in her outing in the cage.
 
Offensively, Lemay-Lavoie led all scorers with five goals, while Aan chipped in four, her second-highest scoring game this year and third hat trick. Barr reached three goals for the second time in 2018, while Gonzalez made it her fourth hat trick.
 
Freshman Carmen Baringo had her hand in a lot of the offensive effort, logging five assists in the match, while also making three steals.

 

February 21, 2018  |  Lancer Aquatics Center (Riverside, Calif.)
Scoring by Quarters
#5 Hawai'i (8-1)	8	5	3	4	- 20
#23 Cal Baptist (4-7)	1	0	1	1	- 3
UH Scoring: Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (5), Femke Aan (4), Chloe Barr (3), Irene Gonzalez (3), Ann Inoue (1), Maartje Keuning (1), Lalelei Mata'afa (1), Claire Nixon (1), Samantha Shaw,
CBU Scoring: Lizette Perez (2), Jocelyn Schwegler (1)

 





The Rainbow Wahine move on to Irvine for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, starting on Friday at the Anteater Aquatics Center. UH will open up the tournament against No. 14 San Diego State, then will meet either No. 4 UCLA or No. 17 UC Santa Barbara to start Saturday's action.