IRVINE – The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team opened day two of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Saturday by winning an overtime thriller over No. 5 Hawaii 11-10 before falling to No. 1 Stanford 11-6 later in the day.

The win over the Rainbow Wahine (10-2) was the fourth straight for the Golden Bears (11-3), who are now set to close out the weekend against No. 3 UCLA in Sunday's third-place game.

In a meeting between teams right next to each other in the national rankings, Cecily Turner was phenomenal as she turned in one of her best games ever to lead Cal to victory. The senior tallied a match-best four assists while recording her third hat trick of the year, increasing her team-leading total to 21 goals.

Neither side led by more than two goals at any point in the game. Hawaii held an early advantage before three second quarter goals sent the Bears into halftime leading 4-3.

A 4-0 second half run by the 'Bows gave them an 8-6 edge heading into the final five minutes of regulation. Needing multiple goals, Cal turned to Turner, who took an assist from junior Maryn Dempsey and capitalized on a powerplay on back-to-back possessions to tie it 8-8 with just over two minutes left.

Hawaii regained the lead with 55 seconds to go. After a timeout, the Bears took their time and junior Mallory Reynoso sent it into overtime via a late equalizer with less than 30 ticks to go in the fourth. Redshirt freshman Claire Rowell was credited with her second straight assist in crunch time.

The first overtime period stayed scoreless until the dying seconds. Turner drew a timely exclusion with 10 seconds left, and moments later, she found junior Ruby Swadling for a huge go-ahead goal.

Cal's defense stayed solid, keeping the 'Bows off the board until it was too late. Dempsey iced the game with her second goal, giving the Bears a commanding 11-9 lead with just 1:08 remaining. Senior goalkeeper Isabel Williams finished with 11 saves and two steals.

The win earned the Bears a matchup with the No. 1 Cardinal for the third time in 2023. Similar to their last meeting, they got out to a good start, taking the lead at two different points in opening frame on early goals by Rowell and Reynoso.

Stanford tied it 2-2 through one and answered a second quarter Shea Salvino goal with two straight to take a 5-3 advantage into halftime. The Cardinal put the game away with a 4-0 run between the third and fourth quarters. Voorvelt, Dempsey and junior Reagan Whitney all contributed second half goals. Williams had nine saves, two steals and an assist.

Cal's weekend comes to a close tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against No. 3 UCLA in the third-place game.


No. 4 Cal 11, No. 5 Hawaii 10
Cal 1 3 2 3 1 1 - 11
UH 2 1 2 4 0 1 - 10
Cal Goals: Cecily Turner 3, Maryn Dempsey 2, Ruby Swadling 2, Shea Salvino 2, Mallory Reynoso, Janna Tauscher
UH Goals: Jordan Wedderburn 3, Lot Stertefeld 2, Emma van Rossum, Alba Bonamusa Boix, Libby Gault, Olivia Kistler, Lucia Gomez de La Puente
Cal Saves: Isabel Williams 11
UH Saves: Bridget Layburn 7

No. 1 Stanford 11, No. 4 Cal 6
STAN 2 3 4 2 - 11
Cal 2 1 1 2 - 6
Stan Goals: Aria Fischer 3, Ryann Neushul 3, Jewel Roemer 2, Sophie Wallace 2, Jenna Flynn
Cal Goals: Maryn Dempsey, Mallory Reynoso, Claire Rowell, Shea Salvino, Rozanne Voorvelt, Reagan Whitney
Stan Saves: Maya Avital 13
Cal Saves: Isabel Williams 9