DAVIS, Calif. —  The No. 13 UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team won its first Big West contest of the season, taking down No. 16 UC Davis, 7-5, at the Schaal Aquatics Center on Saturday. Annie Kuester and Cami Mras both fired home a pair of goals for the Gauchos, while Davis native Madison Walker made 11 saves in goal for Santa Barbara.
 
FROM HEAD COACH SERELA KAY
"It's great to open Big West play with a win," Kay said. "As it's always challenging to compete at Davis, I'm proud of how the team stuck together. We got some opportunities to learn today which will help us when we are back at Davis for the Big West Championship."

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was the Aggies who got on the board first, taking a 2-0 lead before four minutes had ticked off the clock in the first quarter. But the Gauchos answered back, putting together a 7-0 run over the next 24 minutes of game time. Mras fired home first, then Camilla Mackay tied the game in a 6-on-5 powerplay. Before the first quarter ended, Kuester tallied her first of the day.
 
Kuester was back at it again early in the second quarter, scoring her second to stretch the Gauchos' lead to two. Christina Mullane converted a penalty later in the quarter, and Mras scored again with three and a half minutes until halftime to make it 6-2 in favor of Santa Barbara. That scoreline would hold for the rest of the second quarter and the entirety of the third, as neither team scored again until the fourth period.
 
The Gaucho defense had to make some big plays to keep that third quarter scoreless, including killing off a 6-on-4 powerplay without their goalie after Walker and Drew Halvorson were both excluded at the same time. On the afternoon, Santa Barbara's defensive unit blocked three shots in front of Walker and recorded 10 saves. Juju Amaral and Leigh Lyter each had three swipes.
 
When the teams did get back to scoring in the fourth quarter, it was Emily Ferguson doing so for the Gauchos with just over five minutes left in the game. That goal made it a 7-2 advantage, and Santa Barbara held on from there until the final buzzer. Davis did score three times in the final four minutes, but the Gauchos were too far ahead by that time.
 
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara remains in Northern California for a non-conference matchup to round out their weekend, visiting No. 21 San Jose State on Sunday, March 3. That matchup will be the third between the Gauchos and Spartans this season, with each side having one win to their names. Start time at SRAC Pool is set for 11 a.m., and live stats will be available through ucsbgauchos.com.