The ASU water polo team finished its regular season Saturday by splitting a two-game road trip against No. 5 San Diego State and No. 15 UC San Diego.
The No. 11 Sun Devils (13-12, 5-7 MPSF) lost to SDSU, 10-7, in their first game Saturday before coming back to beat UCSD, 9-8, later on that day.
The game against SDSU was back and forth throughout the entire first half.
The Aztecs led, 3-2, at the end of the first quarter, but the Sun Devils bounced back in the second quarter by shutting out the Aztecs 2-0 to take a 4-3 lead into halftime.
The game turned in SDSU's favor in the third quarter as it outscored the Sun Devils, 5-2, in the period to take an 8-6 lead going into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth quarter, the Aztecs added two more goals, while the Sun Devils only scored one to give SDSU the 10-7 win.
ASU was led offensively by senior attacker Katie Hedley, who scored three goals. Junior center Katy Lawlor added two goals.
Junior goalie Cailynn Wallace also added nine saves for the Devils.
After the conference loss, the Sun Devils rebounded in dramatic fashion by beating UCSD, 9-8, when Lawlor scored a goal with less than a minute remaining in the game.
ASU jumped on the Tritons early and led 3-2 at the end of the first period, but UCSD stormed back and tied the game at five going into halftime.
The Sun Devils regained the lead during the third quarter and held an 8-6 advantage going into the final period, but the Tritons came back and tied the score at eight with 2:30 remaining in the contest.
Both teams were then held scoreless until a late UCSD turnover allowed Lawlor to score the game winner with 42 seconds left.
ASU was led again on offense by Hedley, who had a hat trick for the second consecutive game.
The Sun Devils now look ahead to the MPSF Championships, which will be held at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center this Thursday through Sunday.
The Sun Devils will face UC Irvine in their first game of the tournament on Thursday at 3:40 p.m.
Reach the reporter at: gina.mizell@asu.edu.
