HONOLULU - Senior Keelia Houston and junior Sammi Murphy each scored two goals, but UC Davis' four-goal outburst in the final quarter was not enough to overcome CSUN's commanding third-quarter lead, as the eighth-ranked and fifth-seeded Aggies fell to the 10th-ranked and second-seeded Matadors by a 10-9 final in the Big West Conference women's water polo third-place game at Hawaii's Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex Sunday afternoon.

Five other UC Davis players -- Hailey Wright, Hannah Harvey, Bryn Lutz, Greta Kohlmoos and Allyson Hansen -- each added one goal. Seniors Kelcy Barott and Marisa Young each had hat tricks for CSUN while another senior, defender Kelcie Ferreira, added two more goals.

Each team dominated two quarters. The Aggies scored three unanswered in the first, the Matadors enjoyed a 5-0 run in the second and scored four straight in the third, then UC Davis put up four in the finale. However, CSUN never trailed after erasing the Aggies' initial outburst.

Wright put UC Davis on the board with her bar-in goal at the 5:39 mark, then Houston made it 2-0 when her shot from the 1 spot found its way past CSUN goalkeeper Kiernan Davis. An exclusion on the perimeter gave way for Murphy's power-play conversion with under a minute to go, putting the Aggies up 3-0 to end the frame. UC Davis junior goalie Haley Cameron, who started two Big West tournament games in relief of injured senior Jillian Wilding, saved three of the six shots she faced in that opening quarter.

The Matadors chipped their way out the three-goal hole thanks to consecutive tallies by Ferreira, who scored on even strength in the opening minute then again from two meters on a 6-on-5 opportunity with 5:48 left. Katie Kammer equalized at 2:25 when she drilled a shot past the near post.

A ball-under foul after the next restart returned possession to the Matadors, and Barott hit the go-ahead with a cross-cage, bar-in shot from almost seven meters out. She then assisted freshman Madeline Sanchez for a lob with 54 ticks left in the half, increasing the CSUN lead to 5-3. UC Davis had one final chance to stop the run but the Matador goalie Davis made a nice right-handed stop against Bryn Lytz' power-play shot in the final seconds. The Matadors held that two-goal margin at the break.

Houston ended the long scoreless drought on the first possession of the third quarter. Her long bomb glanced off Davis' fingers and rolled into the cage to bring the deficit back to one, but Barott found the top shelf with a seven-meter missile on the Matadors' next trip down. Young scored back-to-back, first on a counterattack then again on a 6-on-5 chance, to extend the CSUN lead to 8-4 with 4:31 left in the third. Barott converted another power play a minute later to extend the Matador run to four unanswered. Harvey interrupted the run with her rebound and outback near the right post with 1:27 left in the period. CSUN held a 9-5 advantage heading into the fourth.

UC Davis exploded for four goals in the final period: Lutz on a counterattack two minutes in, Murphy on a 6-on-5 goal at the 5:22 mark, Kohlmoos from two meters with 1:39 left and Hansen on a cross pass from Harvey in the final seconds. However, Young's hat trick goal from set midway through the frame was sufficient to keep CSUN a step ahead of the Aggie comeback.

Ultimately, the Aggies managed just 2 of 11 on their power-play opportunities while the Matadors converted 3 of 6. The fourth-place finish is UC Davis' highest at the Big West tournament since its runner-up showing in 2012.

GOALS - UC Davis: Keelia Houston 2, Sammi Murphy 2, Hailey Wright 1, Hannah Harvey 1, Bryn Lutz 1, Greta Kohlmoos 1, Allyson Hansen 1. CSUN: Kelcy Barott 3, Marisa Young 3, Kelcie Ferreira 2, Katie Kammer 1, Madeleine Sanchez 1.

GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Haley Cameron 3 (21:00), Olivia Husted 3 (11:00). CSUN: Kiernan Davis 6 (32:00).