Courtesy: USC Athletics
USC redshirt senior Paige Hauschild was a driving force behind the top-ranked Trojans’ resounding win over rival UCLA last week, and she’s earned her first MPSF Player of the Week selection of the season for her efforts.
👊🏼Paige punches up USC’s latest @MPSFWomensWP Player of the Week pick!👊🏼#FightOn ✌️ pic.twitter.com/7aI2Z20lg4
— USC Water Polo (@USCWaterPolo) April 25, 2023
Hauschild had a first-half hat trick, scoring three straight goals to break an early tie and get USC a lead it would not relinquish in a 14-9 win at No. 3 UCLA. Hauschild also served up a game-high six assists to help keep USC ahead of its rival, delivering a field block, drawing an exclusion and adding a steal along the way to USC’s 13th straight win.
Hauschild either assisted or scored USC’s first six goals of the game, and she handed out three consecutive assists in the third period as USC built a 10-6 lead entering the final period of play. The win over UCLA secured the No. 1 seed for USC in the MPSF Tournament with the Trojans’ 6-0 finish to conference play.
Hauschild is the fourth Trojan to be named MPSF Player of the Week this year, following Bayley Weber, Grace Tehaney and Tilly Kearns.
Hauschild and the Trojans are off to San José this weekend as the top seeds in the MPSF Tournament. USC opens up in the semifinals on Saturday (April 29) to fight for a spot in Sunday’s title match, where the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament is on the line.