The Hawaii water polo team experienced adversity just before the NCAA tournament, and encountered some more once it actually played its quarterfinal match against California in Stanford’s pool on Friday, losing 17-13 to the Golden Bears.

UH had several backpacks stolen from two team vans in a Palo Alto parking lot Wednesday night as the team ate dinner nearby. Belongings included laptops, uniforms and passports, in an amount valued between $5,000 and $10,000, athletic director David Matlin told TV station ABC7 of the Bay Area.

The Rainbow Wahine received replacement uniforms prior to the match and played the fourth-seeded Golden Bears as scheduled. Big West champion UH made its first NCAA showing since 2015.

“Of course there was a little bit of a distraction this week, but the goal was the game and we were so excited to be here,” coach Maureen Cole said at the postgame press conference. “Every ounce of energy, they mustered up and they put it all out there. I think we’re all proud of each other for how hard they played.”

Fifth-ranked UH (18-6) dropped to 1-3 against Cal to conclude its 2019 season, including 0-3 on the mainland. The Wahine jumped out to a 3-1 first-quarter lead but had trouble getting stops after that; they scored the last two goals of the half to tie it up at 8.

But Cal (17-8) dominated the second half, scoring five straight goals spanning the third and fourth quarters in advancing to face top-seeded defending national champion USC today.

“We have trust in … our coaches, our staff, the university. We knew they were going to figure out how to solve it,” sophomore Carmen Baringo said of the team’s response to the theft. “So we were really focused on the game. And we really wanted to play this game. It was the first time for all of us in the NCAAs. We were going to give everything no matter what.”

“We used that energy and (anger) and put it in that game,” added junior center Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, who tied a career high with six goals on six shots.

Alba Bonamusa-Boix and Maxine Schaap had two goals each and Baringo had one goal and two assists for UH.