Women’s water polo defeats Fresno State, focuses on defense as season starts

The Bruins took down their only out-of-conference opponent this season.

No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (1-0) handily defeated No. 11 Fresno State (2-1) on Valentine’s Day 19-10, outscoring the Bulldogs in all four quarters in its first game in 343 days.

The Bruins had 11 players score – with seven responsible for two or more points – and scored five or more goals in three of the quarters.

Senior goalkeeper Jahmea Bent played the entire first half allowing four goals. Playing in only the third quarter, sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Winter tied for the most saves of any player in the game with three, but allowed five goals. Freshman goalkeeper Sydney Chiang made her collegiate debut in the final quarter, with one save and one goal allowed. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Georgia Phillips did not travel with the team.

Sophomore utility Abbi Hill, UCLA’s leading scorer a year ago, posted a hat trick and said while the team looked good offensively, it can grow defensively.

“The game went well. I think that we took advantage of opportunities on offense and it was a great first win for us,” Hill said. “Obviously, there’s a lot that we can work on. We let in a lot more goals than we wanted to, but I think that’s just part of learning with some new girls on the team. We’re just going to have to buckle down on defense and practice that in the coming weeks, and we should be able to progress from there.”

The Bruins were 19-of-35 from the pool, while holding their opponent to just 10-of-30. While both teams earned 13 exclusions, UCLA netted 8-of-13 shots during six-on-five situations compared to Fresno State’s 3-of-11.

In her collegiate debut, freshman attacker Cassidy Miller scored a game-high five goals on six shots and said team practices prepared her well for the game.

“It was exciting and a lot of fun. Honestly, I’m just stoked that we’re able to play,” Miller said. “It was fun, but really, it all comes down to the hard work that we’ve been doing in practice and everything leading up to it. Every day is a grind, and I feel like that preparation for the game in practice, like just following my shot, and even though it was my opening game, it was all things that we’ve done before (in) practice.”

Coach Adam Wright, who holds a record of 67-17 with the women’s team, said Miller is only going to get better with experience.

“She’s no doubt a talent in the back and she’s got a pretty special arm,” Wright said. “(She is a) really good shooter. You know, I think this is all new to her and as she gains more experiences, it’s only going to get better. She is really concentrating hard to get better on the defensive end, you know, the offensive end comes more natural to her.”

In addition to its official season opener Sunday, UCLA played exhibition games versus the two-time defending gold medalist U.S. National Team on Saturday and No. 7 California on Sunday.

Hill reiterated the Bruins’ offense derives from their defense following the exhibition win over the Golden Bears.

“It was a really good chance to see a good team early and get a feel for how they play and what they’re looking to do to our game,” Hill said. “We won, but I think that we have a lot to work on in terms of defense. Again, it’s just shutting teams down on defense and progressing our offense, but really focusing on defense because I think that is going to be the key to our success.”

After a bye week, UCLA will begin conference play traveling to Bloomington, Indiana to take on No. 13 Indiana at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center at 10 a.m. on both Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.