IRVINE, Calif.  - The top-seeded University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine water polo team (21-4) moved one step closer to winning their third Big West Championship on Saturday at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatic Complex, fending off four-seed Long Beach State (12-14) with a 9-6 victory in the semifinal. 

Hawai'i used a balanced attack to take down Long Beach State, with seven different Rainbow Wahine finding their name in the scoring column. Junior attacker Irene Gonzalez, who was surprisingly blanked in the past two conference matches, rose to the challenge and used her tenth hat trick of the season to lead the way for the 'Bows, registering her 16th multiple-scoring game of the 2018 campaign. 

The Rainbow Wahine got off to fast paced start, scoring right away as sophomore Maartje Keuning connected on the opening goal, scoring on Hawai'i's first possession. Junior Femke Aan and Gonzalez followed suit, as Aan added one while Gonzalez netted two goals in the frame to cap off four consecutive unanswered UH goals to open the match. However, Long Beach State's Virginia Smith didn't let her team go empty handed, finding the back of the net with a buzzer-beater to finish the stanza. 

After shooting 4-for-5 in the opening quarter, Hawai'i converted on just 2-for-5 in the second period, but it was more than enough to keep the upper hand. Senior Claire Nixon tallied her lone goal of the game at the 4:22 mark. Nixon then found Gonzalez, who remained hot, connecting on her third goal of game to push the Rainbow Wahine lead to 6-2 into the half. 

Hawai'i outscored Long Beach State 3-to-1 in the third quarter,  with goals from sophomore Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, junior Carla Abellan and senior Chloe Barr, extending the Rainbow Wahine advantage to 9-3. 

However, the 49ers would not let the Rainbow Wahine go away without a fight, as Long Beach State's Tori Morrissey lad the comeback scoring two goals in the frame and finishing with a hat trick for the match. Three straight goals by the 49ers were not enough, as Hawai'i escaped with a 9-6 victory and moved on to their fourth championship final in their six years in the Big West. 

Hawai'i took advantage of power play in the semifinal, finishing 4-for-7, while Long Beach State converted on just 1-for-5. 

Nixon finished the match with four assists, while freshman goalie Molly DiLalla started her first Big West tournament match and recorded seven saves and one steal.
 

April 28, 2018  |  Anteater Aquatic Complex (Irvine, Calif.)
Scoring by Quarters
#17 LBSU (12-14)	1	1	1	3	6
#5 Hawai'i (21-4)	4	2	3	0	9
LBSU Scoring: Tori Morrissey (3), Virginia Smith (2), Alexandra Massier (1).
UH Scoring: Irene Gonzalez (3), Carla Abellan (1), Femke Aan (1), Chloe Barr (1), Maartje Keuning (1), Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (1), Claire Nixon (1).

The Rainbow Wahine will be in the Big West Championship Match on Sunday to face the No. 2 seed UC Irvine, who defeated UC Davis in the other semifinal, 10-7. First sprint tomorrow is set for 11 a.m. HT at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatic Complex as the Rainbow Wahine pursue their third Big West crown. In their lone prior meeting this season, UH topped UCI 12-6 at home in the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Center on March 3.