No. 3 Women’s Water Polo Takes Down No. 8 Indiana In Top-10 Showdown

Saturday, February 28

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

USC

12-2

Indiana

12-3

Indiana (W)

USC (W)

Photo by: Bryce Dechert

No. 3 Women’s Water Polo Takes Down No. 8 Indiana In Top-10 Showdown

February 28, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

Box Score

LOS ANGELES - The USC women's water polo team took on the Indiana Hoosiers in its first home contest in over a month. From the first whistle to the final horn, USC dominated on both sides of the ball on its way to the 13th win of the season and the second in MPSF play.

#3 USC 16, #8 Indiana 6
The Women of Troy controlled the pace from the opening sprint and never let Indiana settle, earning a 16-6 win in the second home game of the season.

Emily Ausmus won the first possession, and USC wanted no time getting on the board. Alma Yaacobi opened the scoring, Ausmus followed with a goal of her own, and Ava Stryker added another to push the Trojans out to a quick 3-0 lead. After Indiana got one back, USC responded with a strong close to the quarter. Rachel Gazzaniga converted on the power play off an Ava Knepper assist, Maggie Johnson finished in front, and Ausmus scored again on 6-on-5 before setting up Stryker late in the period. USC led 7-2 after the first period of play.

The second quarter continued to tilt in USC's favor. Sofie Umeda scored off a Meghan McAninch assist, and Gazzaniga added two more power-play goals to complete a first-half hat trick. McAninch capped the half with a counterattack finish off an Ausmus assist, sending the Trojans into the break with an 11-2 advantage.

USC stayed sharp in the third. Ausmus struck again early, and Umeda added two more goals to extend the lead. Anna Reed came up with several saves during a busy stretch for Indiana, helping USC maintain control on the defensive end. Ava Knepper closed the quarter with a 6-on-5 goal in the final seconds to make it 14-3 heading into the fourth.

Indiana found a few late goals in the final frame, but USC continued to answer. Stryker converted on another opportunity, and McAninch finished off the scoring in the closing seconds off a Stryker assist.

Notables

Anna Reed recorded 10 saves for her fourth double-digit save performance of the season
Reed and Schneider shared time in the cage to hold the Hoosiers to just six goals to hold opponents to eighth single digit scoring for the eighth time this season
Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Emily Ausmus all recorded hat tricks in the contest
Meghan McAninch set a new career high in assists with five and recorded a team high seven points in the game
Emily Ausmus made five steals for the second time this season and the fourth time in her career

Scoring
Ava Stryker (3), Rachel Gazzaniga (3), Emily Ausmus (3), Meghan McAninch (2), Sofia Umeda (2), Maggie Johnson (1), Alma Yaacobi (1), Ava Knepper (1)

Saves
Anna Reed (10), Lauren Schneider (2)

Up Next
USC will go back on the road to compete in the Convergence Tournament hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona Pitzer from Mar. 6-7.