FULLERTON, Calif. — The No. 18 UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team (15-11, 1-4 Big West) earned their first conference win of the season on Saturday, dispatching Cal State Fullerton (11-18, 0-5 Big West) by an 11-8 scoreline. The result is the Gauchos' third victory over the Titans this season, after a pair of non-conference wins from earlier in the year. Christina Mullane powered Santa Barbara's offense with a career-best four goals on the afternoon. Annie Kuester added three more for her fourth consecutive hat-trick.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos led from wire to wire on Saturday, keeping Fullerton off the board for the entire first quarter. To get the offense going, Mullane scored her first goal of the day inside the first minute, and Aidan Flynn tallied the first of her two later in the frame. At the first buzzer, Santa Barbara led, 2-0.
 
The Gauchos kept that two-goal lead in tact through the second quarter, answering every goal the Titans managed with one of their own. After Fullerton scored their first of the afternoon, it was Kuester with the response. The Titans scored again, and Flynn answered. Fullerton put up back-to-back scores for the first time on the afternoon thanks to a five-meter penalty shot, tying the game with 90 seconds until halftime, but again the Gauchos responded. Kuester scored with 60 minutes until the break, then Mullane beat the halftime buzzer to make it 6-4 at the interval.
 
The third quarter was a goal-fest, with the teams combining to score nine times in just under seven minutes. Fullerton got the first goal after halftime, but Santa Barbara came back with the next three, courtesy of Mullane, Imani Clemons and Kuester. The Gauchos' 9-5 lead, their largest of the day, only lasted 13 seconds before the Titans scored again, and the hosts made it back-to-back goals to get back within two goals, 9-7. This time it was Bella Mady to provide the Gaucho response, and after the Titans scored one more time, Mullane gave Santa Barbara the last laugh. It turned out to be the last goal of not only the quarter, but the entire game, as neither team found the back of the net in the fourth.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos return home for their next game, hosting No. 22 CSUN on Saturday, April 12 for Senior Day. Santa Barbara's home finale will get underway at 12 noon next Saturday from Santa Barbara High School. The game will also be live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com/WWPLiveStats.