BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The No. 4 Arizona State University water polo team (19-7) shook off a tough loss in its MPSF Conference Tournament opener, taking care of business on Sunday in a 12-5 rout over No. 14 San Jose State to take fifth place in the competition.
Mia Rycraw was an absolute wall in the cage for the Devils, stopping 15 shots in just over three quarters and held the Spartans to just two goals as ASU jumped out to a 12-2 lead. As if that weren’t enough, the sophomore added two assists - an exceptional number for a goalkeeper - and two steals in the effort as well.
Katie Sverchek and Daisy Carter each had hat tricks to lead the offensive attack while Maud Koopman matched her career high with five assists.
San Jose State scored three late goals after Rycraw left the game with the lead in hand and the Sun Devil reserves were inserted. Otherwise, the Sun Devil defense absolutely squashed the Spartan attack and held their MPSF-leading scorer Rae Lekness largely in check for the majority of the game – holding her to one goal until she added two more in the final two minutes with the game already out of hand.
ASU combined for nine steals in the effort, led by two each from Rycraw and Sverchek.
Sverchek drew first blood in the effort, scoring a power play goal two minutes into the game. SJSU responded with a power play effort of their own on the other end to tie things at 1-1, but it was all Sun Devils from that point.
ASU went on at 11-1 run following the first Spartan goal, including a pair of quarter-ended daggers as Ao Gao scored her second with just six seconds remaining in the first half and then Maud Koopman added a buzzer beater to end the third quarter – just 20 seconds after Carter scored a goal of her own – to put ASU up 11-2.
Carter and Sverchek both capped their hat tricks within a minute of each other early in the fourth quarter to finish off the ASU scoring. Rosie Huck, Kayla Casas and Lena Mihailovic also scored for the Devils.
The Sun Devils will now await their NCAA Tournament fate with the Women’s Water Polo Selection show scheduled for 5 p.m. PT tomorrow on NCAA.com.