SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The third-seeded St. Francis water polo team posted a 13-2 win over Pitman Wednesday night in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff opener for the program.

Pitman (11-15) opened the game with a goal by Joelle Lok to take a 1-0 lead.

"I was a little nervous at the beginning," said junior Alyssa Jacobsen. "We all rallied together and were able to get the goals back. It was a wakeup call but we were there with our energy."

St. Francis (14-11) scored six straight over the rest of the half to lead 6-1 at the break. The Troubies added four goals in the third and three in the fourth. Overall, SF scored 12 unanswered goals to build a 12-1 lead. Lok added her second goal to start the fourth period.

The Troubadours were aided by 10 saves by senior Kate Watley in the cage, helping the team cruise to the opening victory.

"It was vitally important," said Jacobson of the play of the team's goalie. "They love to take a foul and shoot. Kate was there to back us up if we were not there with our shot block. It helped a lot."

Sophomore Claire McManus played the fourth period and made three saves.

Junior Kendall Houck led the team with three goals and an assist to go with two steals. Jacobsen added two goals, an assist and three steals to earn TroubieTV Player of the Game honors. Junior Allie Belafsky and Carolinie Wilkins both added two goals in the win.

St. Francis also got goals from Emma Olver, Sarah Mudd, Reagan Garcia and Emma Johnson.

The playoff game was the first for four junior varsity callus for the playoffs including Olver, Karissa Peterson, Riley Glenn and Sage Davis.

"We are all really excited," said Jacobsen. "With the new girls, it is really fun to have them up with us, have a bigger team and more spirit and love together."

St. Francis will host Oak Ridge on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Jesuit. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students.

St. Francis 13, Pitman 2

SF – Houck 3, Jacobsen 2, Belafsky 2, Wilkins 2, Olver, Mudd, Johnson, Garcia. Pitman – Lok 2.