Breakthrough win for water polo women

The Australian women's water polo team have made a breakthrough against their US rivals in a pre-Olympic encounter that came right down to the wire.

The Stingers beat the USA 5-4 in California on Friday (AEST), scoring their fifth goal in the final 60 seconds.

It was a nail-biter from the beginning as the Stingers were down in the first quarter and tied with the USA for most of the game.

Their win marks significant progress for Australia as it lost the first two matches of the US tour 14-11 and 11-5.

Stingers captain Bronwen Knox said it was a great way to finish the tour.

"We had a couple of ups and downs throughout the week, but we've finished on a high."

The two teams have a long-standing rivalry dating back to Australia's gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.

Both teams head to the World League Super Final in Shanghai next month, after which the Australian team for the Rio Olympics in August will be picked.