BERKELEY – The creatures of habit unleashed the beast Sunday against Indiana.

The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team immediately eliminated any chance of a letdown after Saturday's emotional loss to No. 1 Stanford, erupting for eight straight goals to start the game in a 17-5 victory over the Hoosiers at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

The Bears (14-6, 2-3 MPSF) came back from a seven-goal deficit to lose 13-12 to the Cardinal on Saturday. The Hoosiers, playing their first season in the MPSF, have yet to win a conference game and are 5-15 on the season.

"We have a tendency to only get pumped up for the big games," Cal head coach Coralie Simmons said. "We are creatures of habit, and we can't continue to be that creature. We have to make sure we find consistency and not overlook anyone. Indiana had some good athletes in the water."

Cal scored on each of its first six possessions of the game and junior All-American Emma Wright had a hat trick by the end of the first quarter. She led the Bears with four goals while 11 players scored overall for the Bears.

Cal had an 8-0 lead before the Hoosiers finally scored with 4:34 left in the second quarter. Indiana ended up scoring back-to-back goals before the Bears notched three more in a row to make it 11-2 early in the second half.

"Yesterday, we showed teamwork and effort to come back as strong as we did, and we had to transfer that energy into today's game," Wright said. "We had to make sure today was different and we started off the game right."

Junior Kristina Garcia and freshman Cynthia Mulder each scored her first career goal, and Mulder added another later. Mulder's older sister, Brigit, also scored twice for the Bears along with senior Grace Morgan.

All-American goalie Madison Tagg played in the cage for only the first quarter and recorded six saves. Sophomores Cassidy Ball and Claire McDowell split time at goalie the remainder of the game.

The Bears close out the regular season Saturday at home against No. 10 Arizona State. The match will serve as Senior Day and Tagg, Morgan, Sarah Siepker, Sofia Rivas, Lauren Charter and Rachael Lewin will each be honored in a special pregame ceremony. The match will also air on the Pac-12 Networks.
              
 
No. 4 Cal 17, Indiana 5
Ind 0 2 1 2 – 5
Cal 6 4 4 3 – 17
Indiana Goals: Tina Doherty 2, Juli Hilovsky, Megan Abarta, Gillian Gatecliff.
Cal Goals: Emma Wright 4, Brigit Mulder 2, Grace Morgan 2, Cynthia Mulder 2, Sarah Siepker, Elli Protopapas, Kristina Garcia, Kitty Lynn Joustra, Carson Broad, Georgia Gilmore, Carla Traplin.
Indiana Saves: Sarah Greeven 8, Mary Askew 4.
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 6, Cassidy Ball 4, Claire McDowell.