NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The No. 5 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine water polo team (20-4, 5-0 BWC) ended the regular season perfect in Big West conference play, winning the program's first outright and undefeated regular-season Big West title, defeating No. 20 CSUN (15-16, 0-5 BWC) on Sunday at CSUN's Matador Pool, 12-6. Freshman Elyse-Lemay shined for the Rainbow Wahine, pouring in four goals and notching her sixth hat trick of the season. Meanwhile. senior Claire Nixon garnered her third hat trick of the season. 

From the start, the Rainbow Wahine were determined to get out of the gate running, as Nixon found the back of the net on Hawaii's first possession at the 7:05 mark. After a CSUN miss, senior Chloe Barr connected on a goal that pushed the Rainbow Wahine to an early 2-0 advantage with 6:18 to play in the opening quarter. Lemay-Lavoie and CSUN's Madeleine Sanchez traded goals to end the period in contention.

Although the Rainbow Wahine struggled to convert on power play opportunities in the first half, going 0-for-3, Lemay-Lavoie and Nixon found a way, each netting a goal against CSUN's gritty defense. The Matadors' Sanchez produced her second goal of the game at the 5:19 mark, while Paula Abellan Garcia recorded a goal to stay within reach at with a 5-3 UH lead at the break. 

However, the game changed quickly as the Rainbow Wahine delivered a big second half to pull away from the Matadors, outscoring the opposition 7-3 in the second half. Lemay-Lavoie did not waste time in tallying her sixth hat trick of the year, netting a goal at the 7:23 mark of the third frame. After a goal by CSUN's Katelyn Fairchild, Hawai'i connected on two straight goals by Femke Aan and Lemay-Lavoie, giving the Rainbow Wahine a 8-4 edge entering the fourth quarter. 

In the final period, CSUN's Sanchez notched a hat trick at the 6:36 mark by narrowing the Rainbow Wahine lead to just three. However, Hawai'i used a 4-1 run to finish off the Matadors as Maartje Keuning, Barr, Nixon and Lalelei Mata'afa recorded one goal apiece. 

Freshman goalie Molly DiLalla got her ninth straight start, recording seven saves and two steals. 

On the season, the Rainbow Wahine outscored Big West opposition by a six-goal average to earn their first perfect BWC season since joining the league in
 

April 15, 2018  |  Matador Pool (Northridge, Calif.)
Scoring by Quarters
#5 Hawai'i (19-4, 4-0)	3	2	3	4	12
#20 CSUN (15-16, 0-5)	1	2	1	2	6
UH Scoring: Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (4), Clair Nixon (3), Chloe Barr (1), Femke Aan (1), Maartje Keuning (1), Lalelei Mata'afa (1)
CSUN Scoring: Madeleine Sanchez (3), Carly Wickman (1), Katelyn Fairchild (1), Paula Abellan Garcia (1)

The Rainbow Wahine will be the top seed in the 2018 Big West tournament held in Irvine, Calif., at the Anteater Aquatics Complex from Friday Apr. 27th - Sunday Apr. 29th.