SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The No. 15 UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team was clearly refreshed after taking two weekends off from competition, as the Gauchos cruised to a pair of victories in their return to play on Wednesday. Leigh Lyter and Jojo Scheer each tallied hat-tricks to help Santa Barbara dismantle Santa Clara in the opening game, then did the same in the afternoon game against West Valley College, where Scheer played previously. The Gauchos downed the Vikings, 16-7, though it will not count toward their record.
 
FROM HEAD COACH SERELA KAY
"It was great to break back into competiton after a few weeks off," Kay said. "This is an opportunity to prepare for the rest of Big West play starting with UC Irvine on Friday. Looking forward to applying the work put in over Spring Break training."

NO. 15 UC SANTA BARBARA 15, SANTA CLARA 2
The hosting Broncos got on the board first, but then the Gauchos scored 15 unanswered goals and held Santa Clara scoreless for the last 30 minutes and 44 seconds of game time, cruising to their largest margin of victory of the season. Madison Walker made eight saves in the first half before making way for Ava Donleavy, who managed the shutout through the second half, with help from the defense in front of her.
 
In the attack, eight different players found the back of the net for Santa Barbara, headlined by Lyter and Scheer's hat-tricks. Emily Ferguson and Annie Kuester both scored in the first quarter, as did Scheer, to give the Gauchos the lead at the first buzzer. Lyter, Juju Amaral and Imani Clemons combined for four goals in the second quarter, and Aidan Flynn joined Clemons and Kuester on the scoresheet in a three-goal third. Amaral scored again in the fourth, as did Lyter and Scheer (twice), with Mary Beth Heffelfinger putting the finishing touches on the blowout. Amaral was one of four Gauchos with multiple assists in the game, along with Kuester, Flynn (who tallied a team-high three) and Christina Mullane.
 
NO. 15 UC SANTA BARBARA 16, WEST VALLEY 7
The Gauchos kept the scoring party going to start their second game, racing out to a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Flynn, Kuester, Mullane and Clemons were all back on the scoresheet in the frame, and Drew Halvorson added her first goal of the day.
 
West Valley battled back in what was a goal-filled second quarter, scoring four goals in the frame and getting within as few as three goals. However, the Gauchos scored five more, with Scheer, Lyter and Emily Ferguson each tallying their first goals of the game during the period. Santa Barbara led, 10-4, at the half.
 
The Gauchos continued to pull away in the second half, out-scoring the Vikings 3-1 in the third quarter and 3-2 in the fourth. Natalia Stanard scored in the third, while Lyter polished off a four-goal game and Scheer completed a hat-trick against her former team in the fourth.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos return to Santa Barbara for their next match, hosting No. 8 UC Irvine on Friday, March 29. The Gauchos and Anteaters will get underway at noon from Santa Barbara High School, where admission is free and open to the public until the venue's capacity is reached. The game will also be live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available through ucsbgauchos.com.