Vaqueros top Sierra 17-7 to move into State final

SBCC took a 7-2 halftime lead on Friday morning and scored seven goals in the final period to beat Sierra 17-7 in the CCCAA State women's water polo semifinals at Las Positas College in Livermore.

Kendra Carr scored five goals for the top-seeded Vaqueros, who won their 11th straight game to improve to 33-1. Sierra, the No. 2 seed from the North, fell to 24-7 and will play in the third-place game on Saturday.

Addison Seale had three goals, seven assists and four steals and Halie Johnson and Gabrielle Ritter scored three apiece.

All-American goalie Mackenzie Richards allowed six goals and had eight saves. She's allowed six or less goals in 23 of her 31 appearances this year.

"We played a very balanced game and our entire team contributed," said coach Chuckie Roth. "We got several goals on our counter-attacks. Ivanna Bilaver got some key ejections and scored two goals from the center position.

"We were solid defensively. It's been a great season and tomorrow, we're going to play our game to the highest level and celebrate playing one last game together."

The Vaqueros advance to the State final in just their third season of water polo. They'll face a familiar foe on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Riverside, the No. 2 seed from the South, beat North No. 1 San Joaquin Delta 9-5 in the second semifinal.

Riverside (29-3) handed the Vaqueros their only loss 10-7 in overtime on Oct. 22. SBCC is 2-1 vs. the Tigers this year with the most recent win coming by the same score (10-7) last Saturday in the Southern Cal Regional final.

   CCCAA State Semifinal
Sierra ….......… 1  1  2  3  --  7
SBCC ……….….. 3  4  3  7 -- 17
 SBCC – Goals: Carr 5, Seale 3, Johnson 3, Ritter 3, Bilaver 2, Talkin 1. Saves: Richards 8.