TEMPE, Ariz. – The sixth-ranked University of Hawai'i water polo team extended their record to 4-0 at the ASU Cross Conference Challenge, and their win streak to seven games, defeating both No. 20 Princeton and No. 21 Loyola Marymount in strong defensive outings Sunday morning at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex.
 
Match 1: No. 20 Princeton
After sweeping the opening day, the Rainbow Wahine went back to work in the day's opening match at ASU. Despite making a slow start offensively, when UH scored it came in bunches. With the Tigers and Rainbow Wahine in a deadlock for over four minutes, senior Chloe Barr broke the stalemate with a Carmen Baringo-assisted score at 3:58 in the first quarter. The initial goal sparked Hawai'i to a 3-0 advantage at the end of the opening stanza, as freshman Elyse Lemay-Lavoie and sophomore Maartje Keuning knocked down a pair as the first wound down.
 
However, in the second period Keuning took command, netting two scores in the opening four minutes of the second quarter for her second hat trick of the young season, giving UH some breathing room with a three-goal advantage at the half, 5-2.
 
It was all Hawai'i in the third, as four more Rainbow Wahine entered the scoring picture to the tune of six goals, while Keuning added her fourth goal and junior Carla Abellan netted two in the period. Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Ymane Hage shut out the Tigers in the frame before making her exit at the quarter break.
 
Although the Tigers made late advances to trim the deficit by three late in the fourth, junior Hannah Thompson took one back late to push the Rainbow Wahine to its final advantage at 12-5.
 
Keuning finished with four goals to Abellan's two, while six other UH scorers logged one goal. Hage was again dominant in the cage, allowing only two scores with eight saves and one steal.

 

ASU Cross Conference Challenge
February 4, 2018  |  Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex (Tempe, Ariz.)
Scoring by Quarters
#6 Hawai'i (6-1)	3	2	6	1	- 12
#20 Princeton (0-4)	0	2	0	3	- 5
UH Scoring: Maartje Keuning (4), Carla Abellan (2), Chloe Barr (1), Irene Gonzalez (1), Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (1)
PU Scoring: Amy Castellano (2), Chelsea Johnson (1), Maddie Pendolino (1), Haley Wan (1)

 





 
Match 2: No. 21 Loyola Marymount
Back for the Challenge finale, the Rainbow Wahine caught fire late against the LMU lions, keeping the upper hand in an early defensive tug-of-war.
 
The 'Bows were 1-for-8 on first-quarter shots, but the one landed made all the difference early, as junior Femke Aan connected to put UH ahead 1-0 just 1:05 into the match. That lead would stand through another 11 minutes of action until Keuning netted a goal just 10 seconds out of a UH timeout in the second quarter. Senior Irene Gonzalez extended the Rainbow Wahine advantage to 3-0 just 36 seconds before the halftime break.
 
The Lions snapped the shutout with Daniela Hernandez' score with only 1:08 in the third quarter, but Barr responded just 29 seconds later to carry a three-goal UH lead into the final frame.
 
LMU would score once more, but again Barr countered, this time sparking a Rainbow Wahine offensive run, as Keuning and Gonzalez chipped in two more scores across a two-minute stretch. With only 28 seconds remaining, Abellan netted her third goal of the two-match day, pushing UH to its final 8-2 advantage over the Lions.

Barr, Gonzalez and Keuning each finished with two goals apiece against LMU, while Hage finished off a solid weekend in the cage with nine saves and an 81.8 save percentage.

 

ASU Cross Conference Challenge
February 4, 2018  |  Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex (Tempe, Ariz.)
Scoring by Quarters
#6 Hawai'i (7-1)	1	2	1	4	- 8
#21 Loyola Marymount (4-7)	0	0	1	1	- 2
UH Scoring: Chloe Barr (2),  Irene Gonzalez (1), Maartje Keuning (2), Femke Aan (1), Carla Abellan (1)
LMU Scoring: Daniela Hernandez (1), Hana Vilanova (1)

 




The Rainbow Wahine will be out of competition for the next 17 days, heading to Cal Baptist on Feb. 21 in advance of UC Irvine's Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Feb. 23-25).