UCLA Women's Water Polo Visits Indiana After ASU Split
UCLA Women's Water Polo Visits Indiana After ASU Split
The Bruins won yesterday's game against the Sun Devils on a Hannah Palmer goal in Sudden Death.
After spending the weekend in Tempe, Arizona and splitting a pair of games with the Sun Devils, the UCLA women’s water polo team is in Bloomington, Indiana today for the first of two MPSF games against the Indiana Hoosiers. First sprint is scheduled for 2 pm PT.
Last Time Out
UCLA fell behind in the first half yesterday against the Sun Devils. In fact, Arizona State kept the Bruins scoreless in the first quarter while managing to score twice against UCLA goalie Jahmea Bent.
The Sun Devils scored first in the second quarter as well, taking a 3-0 lead. UCLA finally got on the board 37 seconds into the second when Hannah Palmer found the back of the net. Sophomore Fiona Kuensis scored UCLA’s only other goal of the first half on a power play goal with 3:02 left in the half. At halftime, the Bruins trailed ASU, 5-2.
After the break, UCLA launched a scoring barrage with four consecutive goals to start the third quarter, which gave the Bruins a 6-5 lead. Palmer scored her second goal of the game and she was joined by Brooke Maxson, Malia Allen, and Katrina Drake, who all scored. ASU re-took the lead with back-to-back goals, but Kuensis added her second of the game to tie it back up with 1:34 to go in the third. With just 16 seconds left, the Sun Devils scored again, breaking the tie, but Annelise Miller’s goal with just two seconds left meant that the score was tied, 8-8, after three.
Each team could only manage one goal in the fourth quarter. Drake scored the last goal of regulation to tie it back up at 9-9 with 2:17 to play.
In the first overtime, Ava Johnson scored on a power play to give UCLA the lead. But, because water polo plays two overtime periods, Johnson’s goal didn’t end the game. In the second overtime, the Sun Devils were able to tie it with 1:12 to go. Overtime ended with the score now tied, 10-10, sending the game to sudden death.
In sudden death, the teams played for nearly three minutes without a goal being scored. Then, with 12 seconds left in the first sudden death period, Palmer scored to win the game for the Bruins, 11-10. It was Palmer’s third of the game, giving her a hat trick to go with a Bruin win.
Indiana Hoosiers
After two tough games in a row, UCLA will now face the Indiana Hoosiers today and tomorrow. Compared to the games against ASU, these next two games should be a breeze as the Hoosiers haven’t won an MPSF game yet.
In fact, while they have a total of eight wins on the season, all eight wins have come against just two teams — Salem and St. Francis. Neither team is a powerhouse. So, look for a pair of big wins by the Bruins. The only way today’s game is not a double-digit win is if Adam Wright uses this game as an opportunity to rest his starters and get the team’s underclassmen some game experience.
#2 UCLA Women’s Water Polo (7-2, 5-2)
Opponent: #15 Indiana Hoosiers (8-10, 0-6)
When: 2:00 pm PT, Monday, April 12, 2021
Where: Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center, Bloomington, IN
TV: None
Live Stream: BTN+ and the BTN+ app
Live Stats: TheFosh.net
Go Bruins!!!
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