LA JOLLA, Calif. — It was Scheer brilliance for the UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team on Sunday as junior utility Jojo Scheer tallied a game-high five points to lead the 12^th-ranked Gauchos past the 9^th-ranked UC San Diego Tritons, 10-9. Scheer, a transfer from West Valley College, contributed to half of her team's goals, scoring four of them and assisting another in the finest performance of her young Gaucho career. Annie Kuester and Drew Halvorson were second on the team in points with three each, while captain Leigh Lyter drew a whopping six exclusions to help Santa Barbara earn its first upset win of the season.
 
FROM HEAD COACH SERELA KAY
"I'm proud of the players for sticking together to pull out the victory," Kay said. "UC San Diego always fights a hard battle until the end."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the hosting Tritons opened the scoring, UC Santa Barbara responded with three goals in less than two minutes, ending the first quarter with the advantage thanks to scores from Christina Mullane, Halvorson and Cami Mras. After UC San Diego again scored first in the second quarter, Scheer fired home to put the Gauchos back up two, but the Tritons answered again to make Santa Barbara's lead just one, 4-3, at halftime.
 
The Gauchos never trailed in the second half, despite UC San Diego's best efforts, thanks in large part to Scheer, who scored three times in the final two quarters. After the Tritons tied the game early in the third quarter, it was Scheer who restored the Gauchos' lead. And when the hosts did it again late in the third, so did Scheer, completing her hat-trick with a five-meter penalty to put Santa Barbara ahead. The junior from Porterville scored again with just over a minute left in the frame to put the Gauchos up two, and from there they held the lead until the final buzzer.
 
The Tritons did score late in the third to pull within one, but then the two teams traded goals, a pair each, in the final eight minutes. Kuester and Emily Ferguson were the scorers for the Gauchos, keeping Santa Barbara ahead en route to their eventual victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos are off to another tournament next weekend, and they won't have to wait until the final day to play their hosts this time. UC Santa Barbara will open the ASU Invitational on Feb. 9 by taking on No. 14 Arizona State in Tempe. They will hit the water at noon Pacific, with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.