HONOLULU – In a battle of the Big West unbeatens, No. 7/7 UC Irvine fell 16-11 in overtime to No. 3/4 Hawai'i inside the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex Saturday evening.
 
The Anteaters (13-10, 4-1 Big West) faced a one-goal deficit late in the fourth period, forcing them to call a 30-second timeout with 1:21 left in the game. Unable to execute the plan immediately, Sara Naulty played hero as her shot hit the back of the cage with one second left in regulation, tying the game 11-all, and forcing the extra frame.
 
Lauren Hett led the scoring with a team-high three goals, her third straight hat-trick, and added a steal.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Naulty, Nioka Thomas, and Madi O'Hara each contributed two goals
• Kennedy East and Pippa Heaver tallied one goal apiece
• Heaver and Hourigan recorded the team's only two assists
• Rachel Kirchner stopped five shots and tied Thomas for the team-best three steals
• UH shot 53.3 percent (16-30) in the contest while UCI went 31.4 percent (11-35) at the cage
• The Anteaters (2-8) and the Rainbow Wahine (2-6) each converted two powerplay chances
• No. 3/4 Hawai'i was led by Bernadette Doyle's four goals, three assists, and three steals. Three other UH players notched hat-tricks.

 
SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: No. 7/7 UC Irvine got out in front first when Nioka Thomas (7:44) stole the ball from the Rainbow Wahine after they won the opening and went the length of the pool for the score. No. 3/4 Hawai'i put two away in a 30 second span to take the 2-1 advantage at 6:55. The Anteaters played great defense which led to Thomas getting the ball and scoring at 3:30 to even the contest. After another UH goal, Pippa Heaver fed Madi O'Hara (1:26) in center for the shoot and score to keep it even. A field block by Hawai'i sent the Rainbow Wahine down the pool for a score with nine seconds left to take the 4-3 lead.
  • Thomas (2) and O'Hara (1)
• Second period: The Anteaters drew an exclusion at 6:45 and got the ball to Kennedy East to quickly convert while up a player to knot the score, 4-all. UCI's defense continued to hold strong all period with their defense stop at 1:10, the 'Eaters called a timeout which set up a play to get Heaver the ball with 52 seconds on the clock to go ahead 5-4 at the break.
  • East (1) and Heaver (1)
• Third period: No. 7/7 UC Irvine built a three-goal edge as Lauren Hett (7:20) converted on the five-meter and Sara Naulty found the back of the net at 6:09. UH responded with three unanswered goals to tie the game back up, 7-7, headed into the final eight minutes.
  • Hett (1) and Naulty (1)
• Fourth period: The scoring seesawed throughout the fourth period, starting when UH reclaimed the lead at 7:06. Brooke Hourigan placed the ball over to O'Hara (6:14) to even it up 8-8. Hett came up huge, twice, the last at 1:58 to keep the game balanced at 10-all. The Rainbow Wahine called a timeout to draw up a play to find the back of the cage as they found themselves back up with 1:21 remaining. UCI called a 30-second timeout which was did not see immediate results until Naulty's shot hit the back of the cage with one second left on the clock, tying the game 11-11, to force overtime.
  • Hett (2), Naulty (1), and O'Hara (1)
• Overtime: It was all No. 3/4 Hawai'i in the extra time as they put away two goals in the first session and three in the other. UC Irvine had plenty of chances in front of the goal, but great defense from the Rainbow Wahine prevented any of the five Anteater chances from hitting the back of the net.

 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters make the trip up to Northern California to take on both No. 17 UC Davis (Apr. 12) and No. 5 California (Apr. 13).