A new Big West Champion was crowned at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic complex on Saturday night, as defending champion Hawaii was unseated by visiting UC Irvine.

The Anteaters rode the momentum from the opening sprint all the way to the final buzzer, never trailing in the 11-8 victory to claim the Big West Conference Women’s Water Polo Championship.

Missed opportunities plagued the Rainbow Wahine, proving to be the key difference between a title defense and a runner-up finish. The Wahine failed to score on four power-play opportunities, including a six-on-four shot that sailed over the goal. UH also had a number of shots bounce agonizingly off of the goal posts in the three-score loss.

“That’s the way, that’s the game sometimes,” Hawaii head coach Maureen Cole said about the missed opportunities. “Sometimes they’re in, and sometimes they’re not in. I think our team was incredibly excited. We had a lot of freshmen in there, first time playing in a championship. They were really amped up. I think we did a good job, but, some shots bounced out, and (UC Irvine’s) went in today. Both teams competed.”

Tournament MVP Jordan Frost, who replaced injured starter Faith Tedesco during the tournament, was a stout presence in goal for UC Irvine, finishing with a save percentage of .500 with eight saves.

“Jordan’s been the backup all year,” UC Irvine associate coach Andrew Rowe said. “We had to put Jordan in, I’d say cold. I thought her performance tonight was just unbelievable. I thought she made some huge saves in critical moments.”

Despite the loss, Hawaii’s Alba Bonamusa Boix was impressive, tying with UCI’s Elena Flynn for a game-best four goals. Morgan McDowell wasn’t far behind with two scores, while Lara Luka and Lucia Gomez de la Puente rounded out the Hawaii scorers with a goal each.

UC Irvine won the opening sprint, and it was off to the races for the Anteaters. Flynn wasted no time in giving UCI the lead, scoring the opening-goal at 6:35 on a power play. A minute later, she tacked on her second score.

Hawaii got an early glimpse of their struggles, failing to score on two power-play opportunities in the opening quarter. The Wahine finally broke through onto the scoreboard at 3:32, when Luka put a penalty shot in the net to cut the deficit to one. Gomez de la Puente tied the game at 1:44, when she turned a free run on goal into a score. UCI responded with its own goal seconds later to retake the lead heading into the first break.

Hawaii’s troubles continued into the second quarter, as an early power-play opportunity was saved by Frost. The Wahine later tied the game for what turned out to be the last time on Bonamusa Boix’s skip shot into the bottom left corner of the goal at 5:51.

The Anteaters went on to score three unanswered goals, but their scoring run was eventually broken up by Bonamusa Boix’s second goal at the 1:49 mark.

Coming out of halftime, the Wahine won their first sprint. Hopeful that momentum was on the move, UH’s McDowall spiked a well-placed pass into the post past Frost for a score at 7:16. A scoring run never materialized however, as Hawaii defenders later lost track of the ball right in front of the goal, resulting in a UCI goal.

McDowall scored her second goal of the quarter at 2:25, but that too was answered by a UCI score to make it 8-6 Irvine heading into the final frame.

UC Irvine scored first to make it 9-6 early in the fourth as UH’s comeback hopes became slim. Bonamusa Boix scored twice in a valiant comeback effort, but each goal was quickly answered by the Anteaters.

With the Big West’s NCAA Tournament automatic bid going to UC Irvine, the Wahine will now have to wait for Monday’s selection show to learn their fate.

“I think we have a pretty solid record,” Maureen Cole said. “We had a few games canceled early in the year for other teams being out to COVID, so that changes our win-loss record. At the same time, I think we still have a shot.”