SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomores Savannah Hamilton and Maya Wenceslao, and freshmen Emma Dietrich and Kendal Douglas each finished with two goals as St. Francis split its Day 2 action at Rio Americano's JV Classic girl's water polo tournament Saturday. The Troubadours lost to Granite Bay, 13-2, to open their day; then finished with an 8-7 win over McClatchy in the tourney's overall finale.
St. Francis junior varsity improves to 3-17 heading into its final week of the year.
In addition to the offensive contributions of the Troubies' leading scorers, freshman goalkeeper Sasha Michon posted 15 saves for the day despite yielding the cage to teammates Hamilton (vs. GB) and Molly Suggs (vs. CKM). Junior Frannie Wells logged six saves in the win over the Lions, while Wenceslao had three in each end of Saturday's doubleheader. Gabriella Philip had back-to-back steals then effectively teamed with Wells on another in a span of three straight Lion possessions in the second quarter.
The Troubies' opener against Granite Bay started on a promising note, with Michon stopping five straight Grizzly attempts – including one on a five-meter penalty shot. However, GB managed to get two into the net in the final minutes of the first quarter, then extended its lead to 5-0 by halftime. St. Francis got on the board twice in the last 39 seconds of the game: Emma Dietrich turned a steal into a one-on-nobody counterattack, then assisted Wenceslao on a 6-on-5 chance with two ticks remaining.
In contrast, St. Francis led for most of the McClatchy win despite the Lions drawing first blood on a power play 95 seconds into the contest. Dietrich scored on a steal and fast break a minute later, then Wenceslao's steal transitioned to Hamilton's first goal at the 2:13 mark.
Wenceslao paid it forward by assisting an Ava Jack goal at 3:10 in the second, thanks to Philips's steal. The Troubies kept the Lions off the board in that frame, with Michon tallying four saves plus a steal from set. One of those stops came on the heels of an Ava Jack field block. That stop allowed Hamilton to assist Douglas at two meters, extending the SF lead to 4-1.
The Lions came back early in the third, but a Dietrich-to-Wells score at the 3:32 mark bumped the Troubie lead back to two, or 5-3. Then Dietrich's steal at CKM's four spot set the stage for Wells' second straight goal, extending the margin to 6-3 with 2:51 to go in the third. Wells boosted the lead to four goals when her steal and counterattack culminated with Hamilton's score with 1:14 left. SF finished the third with Wenceslao assisting Douglas at set with :05 on the clock.
Facing an 8-4 deficit in the fourth, McClatchy slowly whittled its way back into striking range, but consecutive Wells steals and a spectacular Michon steal to halt a Lion counterattack slowed the Lions progress. Michon pounced for another steal with less than a full shot clock remaining, meaning SF needed only to kill time to seal the win. However, a contra foul allowed CKM to get in one more goal, cutting the lead to 8-7 with nine seconds remaining. This time, the Troubies protected and sealed their third win of the year.
Saturday's finale marked the third meeting between the Lions and Troubies, with CKM prevailing by scores of 10-4 at its own tourney and 15-6 at the Granite Bay Jamboree. Helping the cause for St. Francis was borrowing Wells, Dietrich and Audrey Ellis from varsity, which was idle for the weekend.
Both St. Francis teams return to action in the regular-season home finale with Del Oro. JV plays at 3:30 p.m. with varsity following at 4:45, the odd times allowing both St. Francis and host Jesuit to hold Senior Night ceremonies before their respective games.
