STANFORD – The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team turned up its defensive pressure in the second half and continued its breakneck scoring pace, pulling away for a 17-13 win over No. 5 Hawai'I on Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2019 NCAA Championships at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.

The game featured a wild first quarter that had 11 total goals, with the Bears (17-8) leading 6-5 heading into the second period. It was 8-8 at halftime. The contest began to tilt in Cal's favor after it scored the first three goals of the third quarter. After the Rainbow Wahine eventually trimmed the deficit back to 12-11, the Bears scored five straight goals to take a 17-11 lead with 5:48 left in the game.

"The shift I noticed at half was really coming together as a team," said Cal sophomore Claire Sonne, who had three assists. "I think that's been our focus all season long and we really honed in on that these couple weeks coming into NCAAs. I think we have a really special group, and when we are connecting it's just so much fun. We showed that today with our offense. We really communicated and came together for another."

Junior Emma Wright and sophomore Brigit Mulder each scored four goals for the Bears), who advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the third year in a row and the seventh time in program history. Cal will face No. 1 USC on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.

Sophomore Kitty Lynn Joustra added three goals for the Bears and goalie Madison Tagg made 10 saves, seven in the second half when the Bears opened up a lead.

"I think with the NCAA Tournament, one thing that pushes teams is that every game could be your last game," Wright said. "It's the first game of the NCAA Tournament, so it's a really big deal. There are always nerves in your first game. We just had to regroup and remember that this is it - all we have is this game in this moment. We just had to come together as a team and make sure we were really solid."

Wright now has 66 goals on the season, which puts her in a tie for eighth place on the program's single-season scoring list. Her 153 career goals now has her in ninth place all-time at Cal. She also added five assists Friday.

The Bears were 0-2 against the Trojans in the regular season – a 9-8 loss at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine in February and an 8-3 setback at home in April. In the loss at Spieker Aquatics Complex, Cal held USC scoreless for over 16 minutes during one stretch of the game.

Tagg averaged 13.5 saves per game against USC during the regular season.

"We flushed out the pipes and we're ready for what's next," Cal coach Coralie Simmons said. "We regrouped in the second quarter and made it about what tweaks we could make defensively. This team is well-balanced with veterans and youth, and that really allows us to have a creative game. I'm very excited about our ability to score. We have struggled in moments to score the ball throughout the season. That's encouraging for us."

 
 
 
No. 4 Cal 17, No. 5 Hawai'I 13
Haw 5 3 3 2 - 13
Cal 6 2 6 3 - 17
Hawai'I Goals: Elyse Lemay-Lavoie 6, Maxine Schaap 2, Anna Bonamusa Boix 2, Femke Aan, Carmen Baringo, Irene Gonzalez.
Cal Goals: Brigit Mulder 4, Emma Wright 4, Kitty Lynn Joustra 3, Sarah Siepker 2, Elli Protopapas 2, Hannah DeRose, Georgia Bogle.
Hawai'I Saves: Molly DiLalla 3, Bridget Layburn 1.
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 10, Cassidy Ball 3.