TEMPE, Ariz. — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team faced one of the hottest teams in the country to begin their weekend, taking on No. 7 Arizona State at the Sun Devils' home pool on Friday. The hosts emerged victorious, 12-6. Mary Beth Heffelfinger and Leigh Lyter were bright spots for the Gauchos, with Heffelfinger leading the team in goals. Lyter scored with every shot she took and added a team-high three steals on defense.

FROM HEAD COACH SERELA KAY
"ASU came out firing right away," Kay said. "We came together after the first quarter but couldn't make up the deficit. This is an opportunity to learn, continue to stay together, and respond with three more games ahead of us this weekend."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos had their work cut out for them after the first quarter, as the Sun Devils scored seven goals before Santa Barbara got their first. Imani Clemons broke Arizona State's 7-0 scoring run with a goal seven seconds before the buzzer sounded, and the Gauchos did rally from there.
 
Including Clemons' goal, Santa Barbara went on a 5-1 scoring run over nearly 12 minutes of game time, pulling within three goals with just over four and a half minutes left in the third quarter. However, the Sun Devils answered with a 4-0 run themselves, meaning that Heffelfinger's fourth-quarter goal, her second of the day, was nothing more than consolation.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will be back in the pool for a pair of games at Plummer Aquatic Center in Tempe on Saturday, taking on Ottawa Arizona and No. 19(T) San Jose State. Santa Barbara will open things up against the Spirit at 9 a.m. Pacific, then take on the Spartans at 1 p.m. Pacific. Both games will be live streamed on YouTube by Arizona State's student-run Blaze Sports.