CLOVIS, Calif. – Senior center Abigail Benavidez posted a hat trick in each game while senior Piper Brostrom netted five goals in the nightcap, as St. Francis split its first day of action at the Central Valley Showdown girls' water polo tournament at Clovis West High School Friday. The Troubadours lost, 9-7, to a late surge by Redwood (Visalia) in their first game, then rolled to a 14-3 victory against Hanford West in the nightcap.

The CVS features 29 schools scattered across three divisions, with games held at both Clovis West and Clovis.

Benavidez scored three goals in the loss to Redwood, with senior Miranda Ferguson firing in a team-leading four. Junior Frannie Wells posted three of her five assists for the day in the opener. St. Francis led by a 7-6 margin heading into the fourth, but shot 0-for-10 in the final frame.

In the nightcap, Brostrom completed her hat trick in the first quarter alone, then added two more in the third to match her career high previously set against Dublin on October 20 last season. Benavidez scored once in each of the first three stanzas. Ferguson and Emma Dietrich each had two goals, with Clare Krengel popping her first goal of the new season in the final quarter. Addison Hutchcraft scored as part of the seven-goal onslaught in the first.

Senior goalkeeper Sophia Santsche-Chavez notched nine saves against the three goals against the Huskies, compared to the six and nine against the Rangers earlier in the day. She also totaled six steals on the day.

St. Francis will resume play at 9:40 a.m. on the Clovis campus against Bella Vista, concidentally the former school coached by current Troubie mentor Gaby Hawkins. 

CORRECTION: This story previously showed the win over Hanford West with a 13-3 final. The score had been corrected to 14-3.