HONOLULU — The No. 5 University of Hawai'i women's water polo team defeated No. 10 Loyola Marymount 11-9 in front of an electric crowd to cap the opening day of the Rainbow Invitational on Friday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
In her home debut, freshman Ema Vernoux continued her impressive start to the season in leading the Rainbow Wahine (2-1) offensively, tallying three goals for the second time this season. Bernadette Doyle and Alia Burlock set the tone defensively, snagging two steals each while goalie Daisy Logtens racked up five saves. The 'Bows went 4-for-6 on power play opportunities and held LMU (1-2) to 3-for-11 on its power-play chances.
The Lions got the scoring started in the opening minute of the game, but the Rainbow Wahine responded with a goal from Camille Radosavljevic on a power play followed by a score from Morgan Rios in the middle. LMU tacked on another goal, but once again UH returned the favor with scores from Roni Perlman and Doyle giving the 'Bows a 4-2 lead after the first quarter.
LMU scored to begin the second quarter, but UH answered back with two goals on power play opportunities from Vernoux at the 6:21 mark and fellow freshman Silvanne Slot with 2:47 left in the quarter. The Lions would tack on one more goal before a penalty was called on LMU's Carolina Magano. Jordan Wedderburn drained the penalty shot and sent the Rainbow Wahine into the half with a 7-4 lead.
A nearly four-minute scoring drought took place before Vernoux found the back of the net to extend the lead. After LMU scored on a power play opportunity, Doyle skipped a heater past the goalie to conclude the third quarter scoring.
Vernoux netted her third goal at the start of the fourth quarter earning her second hat-trick performance of the season. The Lions went on a 3-0 scoring run to cut UH's lead down to just two goals with 2:13 left. Wedderburn scored a clutch goal 27 seconds later to swing the momentum back in UH's direction. The 'Bows' two goals in the fourth were enough to secure the victory and improve to 2-1 on the season.
UH extended its win streak to three games in home openers and improved to 15-1 all-time in the Rainbow Invitational.
In Friday's first game, No. 12 Arizona State defeated Biola 19-5.
The 'Bows resume play in the Rainbow Invitational on Saturday with a doubleheader, taking on Biola at 12:00 p.m. HT followed by a matchup with Arizona State at 6:00 p.m. HT at the DKAC.
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