No. 3 USC Women’s Water Polo Never Trails In 12-9 Win At No. 5 Hawai'i

HONOLULU, HAWAi'I — The No. 3 USC women's water polo team stayed the course and never trailed hosts No. 5 Hawai'i on the way to a 12-9 road win over the Rainbow Wahine tonight in Honolulu. The Trojans improve to 13-2 overall with the victory.

The game tied up only once in the first period, and USC responded with back-to-back goals from Alejandra Aznar and Tilly Kearns to take a 5-3 lead after eight minutes of action. In the next stretch,  Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber struck for the Trojans to build a 7-4 lead, although the Rainbow Wahine answered back to make it a 7-5 margin by halftime. USC and Hawai'i stayed largely in stride in the third, but Paige Hauschild delivered a big one to beat the buzzer and net a 10-8 USC lead entering the fourth. In the final stretch, Kearns earned another 5-meter penalty — this one finished by Weber for her third goal of the night Kearns had the final word, zipping in her fourth with a 6-on-5 strike in the final minute to get USC a 12-9 lead it would not relinquish.

USC's next action takes the Trojans back on the road for MPSF action. USC visits Stanford at 1 p.m. on Saturday (April 2) and then heads to face San José State at 12 p.m. on Sunday (April 3).

#3 USC 12, #5 Hawai'i 9
March 18, 2022 | Honolulu, Hawai'i
USC    5 - 2 - 3 - 2 =  12
UH        3 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 9

SCORING:
USC — Tilly Kearns 4, Bayley Weber 3, Grace Tehaney 2, Sophia Lucas, Alejandra Aznar, Paige Hauschild.
UH — Elyse  Lemay-Lavoie 2, Alba Bonamusa Boix 2, Lara Luka 2, Evan Rossum, Paula Prats Rodriguez, Morgan McDowall.

SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 5, Molly DiLalla (UH) 3, Bridget Layburn (UH) 3.