GRANITE BAY, Calif. – Freshman Holland Sperber tallied 20 saves against 16 goals as St. Francis claimed a pair of wins in Friday's portion of the Granite Bay JV Jamboree girls' water polo tournament. The Troubadours turned back St. Mary's of Stockton, 13-9, in their early-afternoon game; then prevailed against Rocklin by a 10-7 final in the Day finale.
St. Francis ensured at least a top-four finish in the 14-team tournament, and will face the host Grizziles in the 8:55 a.m. semifinal on Saturday.
Sophomore Piper Brostrom scored five goals while Miranda Ferguson added four and Abigail Benavidez chipped in a hat trick in the opener against St. Mary's. Ferguson then turned around for a five-goal output against Rocklin, with Benavidez and Havana Sperber tallying two goals apiece. Frances Wells accounted for the 10th goal against the Thunder, scoring on a rebound and lob with 47 seconds left in the contest.
The Troubies and Rams battled closely for the first quarter before Ferguson ignited a four-goal second frame. She scored on a steal-and-counterattack combo in the opening minute, then converted a Benavidez assist with 3:52 left to extend the lead to 4-2. Another steal set up Ferguson's outlet to Brostrom on another fast break with 2:23 remaining in the half, then Brostrom finished another counter opportunity with 1:12 before the break.
St. Mary's rallied back to within a 6-5 deficit early in the third before Benavidez scored on back-to-back chances from set. Ferguson and Brostrom connected on an additional counterattack with 10 seconds left in the third, expanding the Troubies' lead to 9-5.
St. Francis enjoyed one of its most picturesque goals of the day midway through the fourth, when Ferguson passed up to Benavidez, who then rerouted the ball to Havana Sperber to set the board at 12-6. The Troubies maintained at least a four-goal edge for the remainder. Holland Sperber posted her eighth and final block in the final minute to keep the final at 13-9.
Ferguson scored a hat trick within the first quarter as St. Francis opened against Rocklin for four unanswered. Benavidez made it 5-1 when she walked up the ball, then fired into the cage with 1:48 to go. Havana Sperber broke a dry spell against tough Thunder goalkeeper Kaniya Destin-Driver with her bar-in goal at the 0:25 mark. St. Francis held a 6-2 lead at the break.
The third quarter belonged to Holland Sperber, who exploded for seven of her 12 saves in the frame. She kept the Troubies ahead until Benavidez ended the scoring drought with a goal at 2:10. The older Sperber then assisted Ferguson at 2-meters for a goal with 1:31 left, pushing the lead to 8-4.
Holland Sperber came up with big steals in front of the cage, plus a lunging save to guard the high left corner, while Ferguson and Wells helped keep the Troubies up by at least a three-goal margin. Mackenzie Wright brought Rockiln to within a 10-7 margin in the final minute, and the Thunder secured possession soon after. However, Addison Hutchcraft's steal sealed the victory for SF.
Saturday's matchup with GB will mark the third of the year for St. Francis, which faced the Grizzlies at the McClatchy tourney one week prior, then again in a Tuesday road doubleheader. GB prevailed in each by scores of 11-6 and 18-7.
