No. 17 Indiana women’s water polo finished its regular season this weekend with two wins on the West Coast. Indiana beat No. 20 San Jose State on Saturday and beat University of Santa Clara on Sunday. The Hoosiers now have a 17-12 record and collected their highest number of wins in a season since 2018.
Indiana scored the first point in the game against San Jose State. The Hoosiers took advantage of a 6 on 5 opportunity, and senior utility Zoe Crouch scored with 5:24 left in the first quarter.
San Jose State answered with a point of its own with a goal from freshman two-meter Sinia Plotz. By the end of a high scoring first quarter, Indiana led San Jose State 4-3.
The Hoosiers and Spartans each scored a point in the second period. Indiana’s goal was secured by freshman attacker Louisa Downes to give Indiana the 5-4 lead before the break.
Downes scored Indiana’s final two points of the game and earned a hat trick with 31 seconds left in the third period. The Hoosiers led 7-5 entering the final period.
Indiana was scoreless in the fourth period, but with clutch saves from graduate goalkeeper Mary Askew in the final minutes, Indiana won the game 7-6. The conference win placed Indiana in the fifth spot in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rankings.
Indiana’s second game of the weekend was against Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. In the first half, the Hoosiers scored 8 unanswered goals. Crouch led in scoring with two goals.
Hoosier sophomore attacker Portia Sasser scored Indiana’s sole goal in the third period, giving Indiana a 9-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, Indiana outscored Santa Clara 6-1 and won the game 15-1. The Hoosiers shared the ball efficiently against the Broncos as they had 8 assists on their 15 made goals.
Crouch finished the game with a hat trick while Askew played every minute of the game and recorded a 92.3 save percentage with 12 saves and an assist.
Indiana finishes its regular season with a 12-12 overall, 2-4 conference record. The Hoosiers will return to the pool to compete in the MPSF Tournament April 28-30 in San Jose, California.
