With its seniors playing primary roles from the first sweet note of the National Anthem, seventh-ranked Hawaii seized at least a share of its first conference water polo championship Saturday.

Seniors Amarens Genee (five) and Monika Eggens (four) scored all but one of the Rainbow Wahine’s goals in a 10-8 victory over Cal State Northridge at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. Junior goalie Amy Carlson had six saves, including four from point-blank range.

The victory clinched at least a tie for the Big West Conference championship. UH (18-9) finished its first BWC season 6-1. UC Irvine, which has won all four BWC titles, needs to beat ninth-ranked Long Beach State to finish 6-1.

The Wahine will be the top seed at the tournament, April 26-28 at Irvine, after defeating the sixth-ranked Anteaters in overtime a month ago.

Katie Teets started senior night by singing the National Anthem and "Hawaii Pono‘i." She transferred to Hawaii last year and served as captain her final season.

Teets, backup goalie Hannah Hogue and attacker Monique Wilson all came here from California. Eggens spent last year trying to get Canada into the Olympics, and Genee is from the Netherlands. Both followed sisters (Carmen and Dagmar) to Manoa and amplified their siblings’ success.

"This last season is definitely my most important moment here," Amarens Genee said. "That sense of urgency of wanting to make us really good, we’re definitely getting close."

Then she smiled: "I’m trying to make my sister jealous."

After their final home match, Genee is third on the UH career list with 175 goals, and Eggens is three short of Kelly Mason’s school-record 238.

"I was surprised Monika got as many looks as she did (Saturday)," said second-year coach Maureen Cole. "She normally doesn’t get that many. If she’s got them she’s going to take them. And Amarens, they played a zone, but we did a pretty good job a few times of working it to her, and when it gets in there she’s unstoppable."

It was that offense that erased a 7-6 deficit and three quarters of frustration in the final eight minutes against the Matadors.

Genee scored three goals in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Emily Carr and Paula Chillida Esforzado found her down low, and Eggens got her the ball alone on the left. With 3:05 to go, Eggens made it 10-7. The Wahine played keep away until it was time for the traditional Senior Float.

It was the Wahine’s switching, thieving defense — and Carlson — that held Northridge (20-11, 2-4) to just two goals in the second half. Hawaii trailed 6-4 three minutes into the second quarter, tied it at 6 by halftime and was held scoreless in the third quarter.

"It always comes down to the last quarter," said Genee, who has 23 goals in her last five matches. "We had more confidence and we finally felt that urgency like, ‘Hey, we’re not going to lose this.’ "

To get to the NCAA Championships, Hawaii has to win three more games in the conference tournament. Every Big West team is in the top 20.

But for now, there is time to savor being the first ever.

"It means a lot just in that we’ve had a good regular season," Cole said. "All the teams are great in the Big West. Anyone can win it. To go 6-1 against those teams is an honor.

"It all comes down to two weeks from now. You’d like to say it puts you in a great position because you’re the No. 1 seed, but because all the teams are so strong the seeding doesn’t really matter."