WWpolo-BWC-Champs-2022
11
Winner UC Irvine UCI (22-6)
8
Hawai'i HAW (17-6)
Winner
UC Irvine UCI
(22-6)
11
Final
8
Hawai'i HAW
(17-6)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC Irvine UCI 3 3 2 3 11
Hawai'i HAW 2 2 2 2 8

Game Recap: Women's Water Polo | | Stacey Shackleford

'Eaters Win Big West Championship over Hawai'i, 11-8

PHOTO GALLERY

HONOLULU, Hawai'i --- The Big West Championship returns to UC Irvine after an 11-8 win Saturday at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex over the hosts, Hawai'i.

The Anteaters win their eighth Big West Tournament title and first since 2018 to earn the Big West automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for a seventh time in program history. UCI and Hawai'i were back in the final for a fourth straight time with the 'Eaters winning for the second time and first time in Hawai'i

UC Irvine never trailed in the match led by the defense with seven steals, holding the Rainbow Wahine to their second-lowest scoring total of the season, and goalkeeper Jordan Frost with eight saves to earn Big West Tournament MVP.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Jordan Frost stopped eight shots on the game, a career high, and she improves to 3-0 all-time as a starter
>Elena Flynn led the team with four goals
>Jessica Lynch scored twice adding an assist
>Seven different Anteaters put home a goal
>Frost, Toni Shackelford, and Piper Smith each earned two steals on the match

FIRST PERIOD
>The Anteaters drew first blood with the first two goals by Elena Flynn at 6:35 and 5:38 left in the period
>The Rainbow Wahine tied things up scoring twice in under two minutes for a 2-2 game at 1:44 left in the period
>Isabel Rack followed up a rebound to score with 1:07 left in the period to go up 3-2
>Jordan Frost made two stops and earned two steals in the first period alone
 
SECOND PERIOD
>Hawai'i started the period off with a goal 71 seconds in to tie the match back up at 3-3
>UCI went on a three-goal run from Brooke Banta at 5:12 left, Flynn at 4:26, and Jessica lynch at 2:23 to burst out to a 6-3 lead
>A Hawai'i goal at 1:49 closed the gap to 6-4, UCI, but two Jordan Frost saves in the final 15 seconds preserved the lead going into the half
 
THIRD PERIOD
>The Anteaters kept their distance trading goals through the third period and hanging onto the lead
>Toni Shackelford nudged the 'Eaters back up by two with 5:56 left in the third
>Sarah Nichols scored with 1:05 left in the period on the powerplay to put the Anteaters back up, 8-6, heading to the fourth

FOURTH PERIOD
>Elena Flynn notched her fourth goal just over a minute into the period to surge back to a 9-6 lead.
>The lead was cut to two goals at 5:31 in the quarter and 1:36 left in the match
>Jessica Lynch scored her second goal with 3:03 remaining to put it back to a 10-7 game
>Tara Prentice tipped in the final goal on an empty net with six seconds remaining
   
NOTES
>Head Coach Dan Klatt was not on the sideline for the match leaving for personal reasons following the team's semifinal win. Associate Head Coach Andrew Rowe was acting head coach for the match.
>UCI's 11 goals keeps up their season average of 12.1 goals per game, the highest season average in program history
>Jordan Frost's tournament MVP honor is the eighth for UC Irvine and second for a goalkeeper with another Anteater, Jenna Phreaner, being the other in 2018
>Elena Flynn's 11 goals set a record for a single Big West Tournament besting Anteater alum Mary Brooks
>Tara Prentice's goal in the final seconds extended her scoring streak to 29 straight matches

POSTMATCH PRESS CONFERECE


THE TOURNEY
The NCAA Championships begins May 6 at Ann Arbor, Michigan. It will be UCI's seventh trip to the tournament and first since 2018. The selection show will be Monday, April 25 at 5:00 p.m. PT
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