IRVINE, Calif. — The No. 5 University of Hawai'i water polo team beat No. 4 Cal, 12-11, in a thrilling offensive battle in the quarterfinal round of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Saturday at the Anteater Aquatics Complex in Irvine, Calif.

In the semifinal round, the Rainbow Wahine fell to No. 1 USC 14-7 to split the doubleheader. UH (9-3) concludes the tournament by facing off against No. 3 UCLA in the third-place match on Sunday at 11:40 a.m. PT (9:40 a.m. HT) at the Anteater Aquatics Complex.

No. 5 Hawai'i 12, No. 4 Cal 11

Ema Vernoux scored the game-winning goal with 42 seconds left in the match, and led the Rainbow Wahine with four goals in the contest. Bernadette Doyle impacted the game on both sides of the ball with three goals and a team-high two steals. Daisy Logtens started at goalie and recorded eight saves.

Doyle got the action started early, netting a goal on a power play at the 7:25 mark of the first quarter. Cal converted on a penalty shot, but Vernoux scored to help UH reclaim the lead.

The 'Bows and Golden Bears traded two goals each to begin the second quarter, with UH's goals from Camille Radosavljevic and Morgan Rios. The Golden Bears tacked on four goals in the period to give themselves a 5-4 advantage at halftime.

Jordan Wedderburn tied the game after converting on a penalty shot. Cal netted two goals, but the Rainbow Wahine answered back with scores from Vernoux on a penalty shot and Doyle with 53 seconds left in the third. The Bears tallied a goal seconds later to regain the lead.

After a Cal goal to begin the fourth quarter, Vernoux scored her third goal of the match and Tara Logan converted on a power-play opportunity to erase the two-goal deficit. The two teams traded goals, intensifying the fourth quarter drama. Doyle earned herself another hat trick netting her third goal of the contest and Alia Burlock found the back of the net to knot the match up at 11-11.

With 42 seconds left, Vernoux scored the go-ahead goal to put the 'Bows up by one. Cal's attempt to send the game into overtime was denied by a field block from Rios, who retained possession for the 'Bows, which allowed them to drain the remaining clock and hand Cal (9-1) its first loss of the season. Julia Bonaguidi and Janna Tauscher both had hat tricks for the Bears.

No. 1 USC 14, No. 5 Hawai'i 7

Wedderburn scored a team-high two goals and the 'Bows posted six steals as a team, but the top-ranked Trojans led throughout in their second win over UH this season. Logtens went the distance at goalie and tallied seven saves.

The Trojans outscored the 'Bows 4-1 in the first quarter with UH's goal coming from Vernoux on a penalty shot.

The Rainbow Wahine offense found a spark in the second quarter tallying three goals. Vernoux capitalized on a power play followed by goals from Wedderburn and Radosavljevic. USC posted four goals of their own in the quarter and held an 8-4 lead at halftime.

The Trojans scored three more goals in the third quarter to go up by seven.

Silvanne Slot skipped in a goal to begin the fourth quarter followed by scores from Rios and Wedderburn. Despite the effort, the deficit was too much to overcome and the 'Bows fell to 9-3 on the season with all of their losses coming against the co-No. 1 teams in this week's Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 25. Ava Stryker, Alma Yaacobi and Emily Ausmus led USC (14-0) with three goals each. 

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