LOS ANGELES – The No. 6 Cal women's water polo team held No. 2 UCLA in check in the second half but couldn't mount a comeback in an 11-5 loss Saturday in the MPSF opener for both schools.

The Bears (5-1, 0-1 MPSF) trailed 7-4 at halftime and limited the Bruins to just a single goal in the third quarter. But Cal couldn't get its offense going itself and never threatened in the second half.

Cal was especially hurt by its performance on the power play, converting just 2-for-11 on the 6-on-5. Junior All-American center Kitty Lynn Joustra made her season-debut after missing the first five games of the season due to injury, and drew six exclusions. The Bears had five more power play opportunities than the Bruins.

The Bears were also silenced by a superb performance from UCLA goalie Georgia Phillips, who made 12 saves, including a handful on high-percentage scoring opportunities.

Senior All-American Brigit Mulder had her second hat trick of the year with three goals while junior Elli Protopapas had three steals to give her a team-leading 13 for the season.

The Bears trailed 3-2 at the end of the first quarter and were still within 6-4 after a goal by freshman Reagan Whitney with 2:17 left in the first half. But Cal didn't score again until Mulder's power play goal with 1:50 left in the game.

Cal will play UCLA again on Sunday at 11 a.m.