CLAREMONT, Calif. — In the first-ever women's water polo meeting between Azusa Pacific and Siena College it was the Cougars that dominated winning 17-9. With the win, Azusa Pacific gets back to five hundred on the season as they are currently 4-4 overall.

Azusa Pacific was led by Milena Guzman Ortiz who tallied four goals on six shots while Kate Green-Jones had 10 saves and allowed just two goals in net. Among others, Lauren Hoyle and Grace Pugh both recorded three goals apiece as the Cougars had three garner hat tricks in the win.

How it Happened: The Cougars scored just over 30 seconds into the game after Montana White won the opening sprint. It was Hoyle that got Azusa Pacific on the board with her first goal of the game, Kyra Kahahawai was the second goal scorer later in the first quarter to make it 2-0.

Turning Point: The Saints would tie it up at 2-apiece just moments later before the Cougars scored the final five goals of the first half. Skylar Ford scored to make it 3-2 before a trio of saves from Green-Jones kept the Cougars in front. A Kahahawai goal closed out the first period before Guzman Ortiz started the second with her first goal of the game to make it 5-2. Maria Boix Pascual got on the scoresheet next before Pugh's two goals before the half gave Azusa Pacific a huge 8-2 lead going into halftime.

The third quarter started with a bang for the Cougars as they wasted little time putting three goals into the back of the net in the first three minutes of action. Hoyle tallied the first before White scored her first goal of the game and then Guzman Ortiz gave Azusa Pacific an 11-3 lead.

A trio of saves from Olivia Lott sparked the offense as they scored four goals in the final 3:05 of the third quarter. Ford scored for the second time to make it 12-3 before the Cougars' advantage would reach double-digits for the first time in the game as Guzman Ortiz recorded her fifth hat trick in eight games this season. Hoyle then followed suit tallying her third goal of the game and her first hat trick of the season to make it 14-3. Guzman Ortiz would score just before the buzzer to close out the third with the Cougars in the lead 15-4.

In the final period, Pugh scored the first goal of the quarter becoming the third Cougar to tally a hat trick. Boix Pascual scored her second to make it 17-5 before Shyanne Rainey tallied her first goal which gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game, 18-5. Siena would get one back before Alyssa Perez scored her first collegiate goal to close out the 19-7 win for Azusa Pacific.

Up Next: The Cougars continue to compete in the Claremont Convergence Tournament with a doubleheader tomorrow, Saturday, March 5th. They will face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 11:30 a.m. at Axelrod Pool before playing their final game against Pomona-Pitzer at 3:15 p.m. located at Haldeman Pool (on Pomona-Pitzer campus). Visit the tournament website for more details on how to watch tomorrow's games or visit APUCougars.com.